Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

(sigh) This is a very intimate and personal album, and I am sure that, if it connects with the listener on that personal level, it is profound and meaningful and delicately beautiful and emotionally resonant and blah blah blah. But this does not speak to me. It's not bad -- it's smartly written, tastefully arranged and played -- but Mr Callahan's laconic, deadpan vocal stylings annoyed me more and more as the album progressed. I find his disaffected, enervated drawl emotionally alienating. I can't help but imagine what it would be like if we just replaced all the vocal tracks with a good singer; Phoebe Bridgers is the name that immediately springs to mind because her material is not a million miles from this, but if we're playing fantasy-casting here, what about Emmylou Harris? Shit yeah, now we're talking! That could potentially be a 4-star album. But that final song, 'Faith/Void' has no business being nearly 10 minutes long. That is just taking the piss.

I've rambled on about how I can't tolerate country on this site a good amount before, but so-called alt-country has been an exception to the rule, as there's been a few bands in the said sub-genre that I've actually liked quite a bit. This honestly is even less "proper" country as the few bands I'm already familiar with. Which is actually not a bad thing. This is rather good, even. Probably won't go into further listening later on, but a solid three stars it is, easily.

Mixture of spoken work poetry, alt country, and soft ruminations. A light and lovely listen for a Saturday afternoon spent reading and dozing.

Dull, very dull, unbelievably dull. It wasn't painful, it is music there's no denying that. It just doesn't get my attention in any way. The music is slow and monotonous, his voice is monotonous and boring. I made it all the way through so it gets 2 stars, and that feels generous.

The arrangements and lyrical work are strong enough for me to be very forgiving of the monotonous vocals, but I truly think these songs deserve a much more emotional performance.

If If only If only you If only you could STFU

Kind of a revelation. I've been a (Smog) skeptic my whole life (though that hasn't prevented me from mumbling along with "Cold Blooded Old Times" whenever I've heard it). But this is the best thing I've heard Bill Callahan do. I love how present the vocals are, and how his voice weaves around these drums and strings. It's gorgeous and the lyrics are incredibly evocative and demanding of a re-listen. I have no idea what he's trying to say here but I want to take the ride.

why do i kinda wanna shake ass?

I give it high points for its evocative melancholy, but lacks the soul, the melody, or the witticism that I like most in folk music. Still, I could explore more of his catalogue. 3/5 *New artist to me

Ma foi pas désagréable

I enjoyed this quite a bit for sometime I've never heard of. Too Many Birds was a highlight for me.

With a title like this I kind of knew I was in for sometimes hipster business. I didn't know it would be like country hipster. Anyway, it's not bad. Kind of like if Leonard Cohen was less dark and a little whinier. Or some sort of country-tinged Lou Reed. Some of the songs are quite good actually. Not sure I'd go back. 3/5

parce que je l'ai ecoute avec elian et ca m'a remonte le moral

Bien et moi aussi je suis chaud pour être un aigle

Have never heard of this dude before, but really, this is very nice and comforting. Good discovery, easy 3 stars. Maybe revisit

I wasn’t expecting to like this, especially as the voice doesn’t seem to match the music, but I found this to be rather chill.

Ok'ish background music.

Зачем это в 2009 году

This album was stunning. I wish I had a CD insert so I could dive into the lyrics. I wanted to listen to All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast immediately.

Zzzzzzz

A) This title is working magic on me; “I” to “we” to “an” - incredible. B) Allison and I got this album on the same day; what are the ODDS? C) Al prefaced by alerting me to the fact this is another one of our guys with shit/perfect voices à la Leonard Cohen, so I was of course primed for a thrill D) the latter was validated by my mom saying “this is as bad as what’s his face. Cohen. Creepy crap.” Apparently I’m 37 still rebelling against my mom musically. E) in sum, v good, though perhaps not wildly standing out for me yet

like a hug after a long, not necessarily difficult but certainly affecting talk with a good friend

not his best

Did not finish

Не, чет очень слабо. Чел тянет одну нот у сквозь весь альбом, рельно ощущение что нет слуха. 2 звезды только за хорошую Invocation of Ratiocination(где нет голоса)

Strange album that is very grating. Juxtaposing the softer melodies with a very rich and heavy voice doesn't work for me at all, and the album as a whole is musically meandering and lyrically childish. Struggling to understand why this was included in the project

I thought I would enjoy this because I’m familiar with some of the stuff he’s done as Smog, and this was indeed a lovely little record. I like how he speak-sings a lot of the material, and how his voice isn’t exactly pretty or in tune with the music; there’s something almost atonal about it than I enjoyed. And the lyrics bear multiple listens; the meaning is not immediately obvious (I've already listened to it twice, and need to listen to it again). I also thought the arrangements were varied and interesting. Cool record.

There's a haunting, bucolic escapism to this that I can't help but be drawn in by, similar to that of Bon Iver and Novo Amor.

A great gentle album.

What a find! Hypnotic and beautiful. Low 5

My wife regularly puts this album on while we are doing an activity together, such as painting the house. I have a terrible memory so I will always say, “this album is absolutely incredible, who is this again?” and she, in an increasingly exasperated tone, will respond “it's Bill Callahan, we’ve listened to this so many times before!” If I wasn’t busy painting the house I would have sat down before now to put into words how deeply this record has touched me. Don’t let my poor memory guide you, I think this is sublime. Callahan’s way with words, and the way he eeks out every sentiment, is spine tingling. “If you could only stop your heart beat, for one heart beat.” He has a seemingly straightforward, deceptively complex approach to playing the guitar. At the core of each song is a simple melody which everything else hooks onto. This LP is absolutely chock full of sweet little melodies which have been corrupted and made dark by spooky additional instrumentation. There is a lot of light and shade, push and pull. Something new to discover with every listen.

Yeah a low 5 for Bill Callahan, perhaps his most realised album feeling both relatively simple in setup and arrangements but deceptively complex in composition and emotions, a wonderful contemporary folk record

hablado, pero buena instrumental

This is what westerner appropriation sounds like to those that haven't purchased cowboy boots yet. Stop making us look bad!

He can't sing but I was into it tbh

Enjoyment: 6/10 Replayability: 5/10 Cohesion: 6/10 Flow/Pacing: 4/10 Artistic Merit: 5/10 Weighted Average: 5.4/10 Review: This felt like an average acoustic, folk album. It reminded me of the Nick Cave albums we've had already too. Nothing special, nothing bad. Liked Song(s): Jim Cain, Rococo Zephyr Disliked Song(s): Invocation of Ratiocination Recommend? Maybe Heard Before? No

Tried to like it, but I fell asleep

It's a nice album but not Bill's best. Odd that this is on the list but much more welcome than ABBA

*2009. "Alternative country." *Folky indie music (which I like), but with a too deep melancholy vocalist that makes it intriguing but mostly just weird. *The voice seems so wrong for the music. It's deep and sounds kind like Leonard Cohen, but this guy is not a very good singer and does the spoken word thing a lot, so it's hard to ignore the vocals. *It was an interesting listen and rarely felt like skipping songs, but I'm not sure this is something that needs to exist. RATING - 6.5/10

Voice very sultry, like a suede Leonard Cohen. But not quite.

Not my thing but kinda relaxing 2/5

Hmm

A real Sunday album.

Ehh not bad music just not my kind of party.

Decent introduction to a new alt/country artist, it was pretty safe & reasonable music.

I enjoyed the album. Perhaps I need to give it several more listens, but I don't get the hype.

I liked the vibe, but wasn’t a huge fan of the talk sing vocals. Enjoyable overall.

I enjoyed the music but didn't love the singing. Reminded me as a more modern, less deep Leonard Cohen. Solid 3.

Yeah, not bad. In the alt. Country/americana field. With a folk angel. Funniest thing is the people liking this so claiming it Can't be country. 4 Star

rym 3.77 Singer-Songwriter/Americana 安安静静的专辑也很好。平平淡淡才是真。 pick: Faith / Void, Jim Cain, Too Many Birds

Bleh

Completely fine but of little note

It is ok I guess. Started out well but started to bore me towards the end.

Whiplash with this immediately following Korn, but a refreshing change of pace

My family teased me when they heard me listening to this album. It's exactly "my kind of music", apparently! Which is true... Eid Ma Clack Shaw has been on my Spotify Liked Songs list for a while. I love the musicality and the story it tells. Listening to the rest of the album was a pleasure. Jim Cain, My Friend and All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast are excellent, too. I'm interested to know if anyone else has ever heard of Bill Callahan, though!

I actually really liked this album, the instrumentation was very pretty and slightly reminded me of Sufjan Stevens. The voice is very interesting as well, it’s more a spoken word album than a traditional singer one but it works. Tops are Jim Cain, My Friend and All thoughts are prey to some beast. 3.5-4

No preconceptions as I was going into this one - I didn't know Bill Callahan at all - not even a broad genre! 1st track (Jim Cain) I really liked, a lush string soundscape and a really nice chilled vibe. Lo-Fi folk maybe? Overall I liked the interplay with the backing samples and the voice, nicely constructed arrangements that evoked, with nothing too dominant in the mix. Different moods in the music and painting with the words. including the very twee trill to describe the ripple on the water in Rococo Zephyr. Pleasantly surprised. 3.5

Nada mal. Está para dejarlo en la biblioteca y volver algún día.

Too bland. I know he has a new album out about being in your late 50s I should listen to but this was a little too milquetoast for my liking. Rococo Zephyr and Eid Ma Clack Shaw were super annoying. Too Many Birds is nice. My Friend is good. I don't mind the slow. mumbling spoken word stuff. Heck I like The National. Just not sure I would be drawn back to this like one of his migrating birds.

Its a nice change of pace to hear a "newer" country album that isn't commercialized crap like most country music these days. Alt country/outlaw/americana are pretty underrated genres and I enjoy listening to them once in awhile. This was fine, not the best thing I've heard, but it was a nice mellow listen. Still, there were too many religious songs.

I don't know if it was because i was feeling good today or not but i thought Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle was an absolutely lovely listen. I think i have only really heard of Bill Callahan in passing but he definitely made the music i expected to hear from him. The music has this incredibly whimsical vibe which makes the album absolutely relaxing to listen to and Bill Callahan's vocals really give me a big Leonard Cohen vibe which i really enjoy. This album could have possibly been a 5 star but the issue is that many of the songs blended together very easily and made a lot of them fairly forgettable. Other than that, It was a very good listen and certainly made my day better by listening to it. Best Song: Eid Ma Clack Shaw Worst Song: Invocation of Ratiocination

Feck me! zzzzzzzzzzzz!

Ooh dear. No idea why this is listed.

Mixed. Leaning dislike. I felt some hope at the start but just didn't connect with it.

Never heard of this artist. Very repetitive tunes. Barely singing. Not much fun. But it's also pretty unique. The invocation of ratiocination is very weird. I have no idea what a "ratiocination" is, by the way.

Beautifully melancholy, this is right up my alley.

Auburn fans when they decide a tiger isn't enough:

It’s always interesting when this list includes an album you didn’t know by an artist you love. This isn’t my favorite Callahan album (and I won’t hold out hope for a Smog album on here), but I can see why this record is featured. The album’s lush orchestration and high production value balances out Callahan’s dark baritone, leading to some beautiful moments, like “Too Many Birds” and “Faith/Void.”

What a great listen for a fall morning in New England... Anecdotes aside, I've always enjoyed Bill Callahan's writing, guitar playing and inclusion of strings. His vocal style is described by Apple music as "deadpan" and I couldn't agree more. It's not monotonous, but it's also not superfluous. The entire album played quite well, highlights are guitar/string combo, and my favorite track is "My friend" 4.5 rounded up

Nice surprise. Lou reedish

Disco muy agradable cuando ya tienes una cierta edad. Me gusta

Good

Its tiiiiiiiiimmmmmeee to put this album away. Honestly, not that bad compared to what I was expecting from the cover. Lots of great touches but I didnt connect with the lead singer at all.

Best songs: Eid Ma Clack Shaw, My Friend, All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast Never heard of Bill Callahan before today, and now I'm very intrigued. The album is like if Nick Cave decided to go country right when the apocalypse was approaching. The vocals are a sort of spoken-word sing-song kind of sound while the instrumentals are very stripped back with a fairly ominous vibe (possibly composed in a minor key?). The lyrics are probably my favorite thing about the album - they're so poetic, full of really lovely metaphors and creative wordplay. There's so much to say about this album that this review can't possibly do it justice.

I think I'd like this more with a better singer. I don't like the Nick Cave types.

I can’t fault it for its originality. It sounds like the start of a new branch in the evolutionary family tree—but one that went extinct because it was too boring to survive. Theory: the word “strife” only remains in English because it rhymes with “life.” I didn’t hate it, but I can’t imagine choosing to listen to this. What would bring you back?

The vocals didn't match the music well. I really gave it a chance, and it was "ok," but that last 9-minute track "Faith/Void" dragged on and on. Repetitive droll. Brought the entire album down to a 2 star.

This was an interesting listen. His voice is truly haunting and very nice to listen to. He almost has a spoken word kind of quality in some places, but very deep and resonant and I liked it. There were some places where his voice got a little Kermit-The-Froggy, but it was still nice. The music was a little more basic, both in terms of the chord progressions and depth of musical interest, but I didn't mind. Sometimes simple is good. There were a lot of catchy rhythms and melodies and I listened to it through twice. Four stars, only docked from five because of the very slight faults I mentioned above.

Bill Callahan has a very trance-like take on folk music, and when you're in the right headspace for that kind of thing, it's very nice. I had listened to this album before, giving it a few tries around the time it was released, and it never managed to stick. Who knows if it will now have more staying power, but I was of the right mind to enjoy this album this time around, and enjoy it I did.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Best Track - "Too Many Birds"

Ich kann mich leider bis zum schluss nicht mit dem "gesang" anfreunden ansonsten wäre es höher 3/5

Choosing to ignore “Invocation…”, which I was unlistenable, and rate this otherwise interesting, mellow album as though that track doesn’t exist.

quite nice, although I think I prefer his voice more in Smog than I do with the production on this album. Wish it were a little more county, honestly. this is the kind of music I teasingly refer to as boyfriend music

A little too slow for me but maybe I was just tired

I didn't know what to expect with this. The music is fantastic, gorgeous at times. The vocals are interesting, the lyrics too. It seems to command attention, I was glued to it. Amen to the final message. This between 4 and 5. Will try it out again soon.

This is shit. What are we doing here?

Trykke på alle de rette knappan men får mæ ikke egentlig til å føle nokka. Tror det va en svakhet i lytteren, ikke framførelsen.

This guy makes songwriting easy! Just write 2 sentences and repeat them for eight minutes, boom song written!

The next time my daughter complains about my singing voice, I'm going to play her this.

"Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle" contains nine restrained, delicate, and beautifully crafted tunes, accompanied by lovely orchestration. Each song is delivered in an unhurried, measured manner by Callahan's distinct baritone voice. It is hardly casual listening; rather, it is the ideal companion for a cold winter's evening in a cosy living room with a glass of red wine. In time, I suspect repeated listens will transport me to that exact headspace, regardless of where I am. Taking each track in isolation, and if this style of music is your thing, then they feel like strong four-star songs. Yet as a complete album, and listened to as such, it becomes a rewarding experience - making the case for the album feeling every bit like a five-star record. Perhaps a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts? Probably why it's on this list. Running at just over 48 minutes across nine tracks, it makes you wish more modern albums were this focused. Four stars. 1 "Jim Cain" (4/5) 2 "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" (4/5) 3 "The Wind and the Dove"(4/5) 4 "Rococo Zephyr" (4/5) 5 "Too Many Birds" (4/5) 6 "My Friend" (4/5) 7 "All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast" (4/5) 8 "Invocation of Ratiocination" (4/5) 9 "Faith/Void" (4/5) Total - 36 Average - 4.0 424/1001 224/424 albums reviewed were new to me.

Dejligt album

Gudesmuk. Den var #3 på listen da jeg rankede Bill Callahans plader for 7 år siden. Den bedste var Red Apple Falls

Beautiful album

felt like the same song on repeat. unfortuatnely, not a huge fan

This album is deeply poetic. It made me reflect on my entire life and the choices I've made that got me here.

Really? But must hear? Dull repetitive. If you want acoustic playing listen to punch brothers phosphorescent blues album. Or bela fleck. Or tony rice. Or a thousand others. This sounds like a ted lasso soundtrack or a scrubs episode in which J D realises - never before mentioned in any tv show - that being a doctor is hard. Gee. What an insight. And such perfectly placed music. ‘My friend’ is musically interesting but undercut by trite lyrics. Dear 1000 albums. Must try harder.

Grounding and peaceful. Haven't really asked myself if I really liked it or not but it was a good listen

2트랙들엇어요

Decent little folk (?) album. The guy's voice isn't great but the lyrics are. 6/10