Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

It was ok, could listen to it again, as I quite liked the track “Friends” - I’d never heard of him tbh.

I could fall asleep even if I was having Red bull in I.V.

There is nothing remarkable whatsoever about this boring-ass album. I'm not even halfway through this project and I can think of at least a half dozen albums that sound exactly like this but better.

Correcto

Overall it felt kind of amateur. There were some neat moments or some lyrics that were deep (but they would have been better as a poem not a song) but nothing seemed finished or polished. It was small town America meets a poetry or music compition. This guy was the best in his small town, but if you put him up against others he really isn't that great.

This was weird and kind of boring.

Not too bad. With that sleeve I was expecting at lot worse. Once again the vocal lets it down for me.

Firstly, this is a very confusing album name / cover art combo. Secondly, I think a lot of the songs on this record are beautiful but the vocal delivery is *weird*. I think I could get into this a lot more if Bill actually sounded like he wanted to be there - he sounds so dispassionate. It's certainly giving Shatner in places, if Bill was feeling particularly dispondant on the day of recording. Thirdly, there should be more nonsense words in songs. Fourthly, just because someone sings with a little bit of a twang, doesn't make them country. The genre classification for this record makes no sense to me. It's far more modern folky than country. Not entirely sure where this leaves me, but I think previous albums where I mostly really liked the music but not the vocal delivery have tended to get a 3. So while the same would have happened here, the pointlessly long and repetitive last song broke me, so 2/5

Ah, it’s fine.

He has a wonderful bass voice. Very soothing. It's just not my thing. It reminds me of 70's singer songwriter stuff, but it was released in 2009. It's not bad, just nothing jumps out at me to listen to it again. My rating: 2/5 eagle feathers

Turns out I did not need to hear that before I died.

Not for me

This was ok I guess. I found it a bit boring.

Jim Cain - 4 Eid Ma Clack Shaw - 3 The wind and the dove - 4 Rococo Zephyr - 4 Too many birds - 3 My friend - 5 all thoughts are prey to some beast - 6 invocation of ratiocination - 2 faith/void - 2

It was fine. Not too memorable except when he goes “my friends 👹👹👹”.

2.3/i mean atleast he's not grating but he's definitely annoying.

I like the instrumentals and lyrics, but I'm not a fan of the talk-singing. When he actually sings, it's better, but I still don't care for his voice much. Skipped: Jim Cain, Eid Ma Clack Shaw, Rococo Zephyr, My Friend, All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast, Faith/Void Liked: The Wind and The Dove, Too Many Birds, Invocation of Ratiocination Loved: N/A Album Favourite: The Wind and the Dove Saved to Liked Songs: None

This isn’t something I’d go back to. There was no standout tracks for me and nothing really grabbed my attention

I guess this is one I just don’t get. Monotonous, no dynamics, just nothing to really enjoy about this.

To many birds... unspectacular a bit boring songwriting.

Another man singing/talking really low and thinking its poetic and nothing else quite redeeming abt it 2.5/5 ~ 2/5 5.67/10

Rococo Zephyr

Hate the vocals

Actually ended up liking this one more than I thought I would, but still not really my thing

Cover: This will be kitschy! Maybe New Age, Enya style? The first track revealed that the cover was a joke. It's DAAARK! I tried to like the album. I like his voice. He seems honest. The understated strings (ah they were only 5 guys playing into a single microphone, nice!). But then there were too many annoying things, his talk-singing style (reminds me too much of Bob Dylan), then when the woman chanted »Rococo!« I gave up. Also: too dark. It is way too introspective and the guy has only dark thoughts. Why do you need to share this with the world?

Im sorry I just don't get it

Not a fan of country

Felt pretentious. Also the half talking half singing was not great.

Minder mig om noget Peter-Sommer på engelsk. Ikke noget, der bed sig fast, men trods alt ikke lige så håbløst som den gangsta-rap, jeg har kæmpet mig igennem de sidste par dage.

Didn't liked vocals. The begining was good, but the more the album dragged, the more samey it felt. I thought it would be 4 at the begining, but by the end of the album, I can't give it more than 2

eh, not my thing

His voice is too dull and all the songs sound the same

☀︎Ça manque de vie ☀︎J’aime la clarinette dans The Wind and The Dove. Ça me donne des vibes de Luigi’s Mansion for some reason ☀︎boring

Gravel voiced nonsence

Hes barely singing, just talking. The music is kinda nice though, at times i did like what i was hearing, though then his "singing" took all the magic away. I do like his voice though, wish he would actually do a little singing. Not a huge fan of this genre anyway so i guess theres that

His voice just didn’t sound too great to me

2.5

Something slow and subtle. I can appreciate it for some parts and it definitely has an indie Pitchfork sounding edge to it. There's nothing else I can really say to describe it (6/10, 3/5 on this scale) (Update: It's a 2 now. I think it's just alright, 5/10)

Me too. So you would fly away and make no more music. painful to listen to, would not call it rock

I really did not like the vocal performance, the pacing, or the repetitiveness. However, there was a unique and ethereal element that you don't really find in country so I give it some bonus points for that. Overall I'm still not a fan but I can see the value it in.

You don't want to be Leonard Cohen I promise

Hur sjunger karln? Har väll nåt. Kommer nog aldrig lyssna igen!

Did not enjoy this. I mean the music was pleasant but the vocal delivery was not for me 2.1/5

Yeah in 2009 all music critics were telling us this was like the best music of all time - it all sounded exactly like this. Downbeat pop with dudes with low voices. This guy could be 50 other musicians. I mean, that being said, it’s not awful. Callahan’s deep timbre is pleasant, and the songwriting is fine (although it gets samey real quick). It’s okay enough to listen to for 45 minutes, but after it’s done it feels completely inessential.

2/5

Musically, I enjoyed ths stripped down mellow indie country vibe. I could not get past his vocals and cadence. This was borderline unlistenable for me.

Sure. Whatever

Don’t like his voice

Not really my thing tbh

Sounds like a guy who grew up listening to Leonard Cohen and said, “I can do that.“ In addition to being unoriginal, I find this not interesting or in the least bit compelling.

Sometimes he wishes we were an eagle? An eagle? A specific eagle? All of us? One eagle? I’m not sure this wish would work.

Atmospheric instrumentals, but the vocals seemed monotone and dull.

Folky... 2.5 stars

• zzzzzzzzz . . . Apnea inducing

Was this written and produced by a large language model? I feel so bad for the talented musicians who got suckered into taking this gig.

Likte da ikkje

Not for me, first track was pretty nice though. Dig the vibrato.

Maybe hire a singer

It’s time to put Bill Callahan away

mid

Not much singing - not to my taste

I wanted to go a little higher because I enjoyed some of the soundscapes and simple but well crafted instrumentation but the talk/singing did not work for me and it started to meander after a bit

Elmo county music

Wasn't unpleasant but plain enough that it was hard to stay interested. The vocals sound like a man who doesn't want to wake a kid sleeping in the next room. Rococo Zephyr had a richer sound than the first few tracks. Overall, I wouldn't mind hearing it again, but I would never put it on deliberately.

So this guy really only has one way of singing?

This was interesting but I also couldn’t stand it

No idea how this could make it on this list. Just talking into an open mic and some instrumentals in the background; no singing. 3/10

Bill Callahan must be popular with some, but he isn't for me. I don't like his monotone talk-singing, the lyrics are a bit pretentious and the songs are kind of boring. Overrated. Sorry.

Is this someone's uncle or something?

The album is not terrible, but simply boring.

Reminds me of Sun Kil Moon. There are some good moments and the lyrics are clearly filled with meaning, but I would need to be in a certain mood to entertain them. Best of 2009?! Hardly even close. But I did enjoy Too Many Birds.

I don’t really know what I think about this one. I felt like his voice was knock off Lou Reed at times. The lyrics didn’t really do much for me and his voice didn’t have a wow factor

Only reason I didn't give this a 1 is because some of the arrangements are decent. Some may describe this as "poetic" or "meditative" (aka often code words for boring). Well, there’s a fine line between minimalism and monotony. The talk/singing varies between passable and horrible. Obvious Leonard Cohen vibes. I understand the appeal of somber folk albums like this, but this one doesn't jive with me.

On the boring side. Felt like Cohen. Definitely did not give a country vibe - more folky.

I did not enjoy this album.

A complete waste of my time. One of the worst listening experiences of my life. Passable music ruined by terrible poetry and perhaps the worst vocal performance I’ve ever heard.

This guy sounds almost as bored as I am.

I didn't like this. But I also didn't hate it. It's like if you wanted some Leonard Cohen, but couldn't afford brand-name Leonard Cohen. So you went ahead and got the store-brand version. It'll scratch that itch a little bit, but in the end you wish you'd gotten the name-brand.

Bill took country and made it weird(er). Kudos for originality, but I didn't really like it that much. Actually, Faith/Void had a pretty good vibe, but it was way to long.

Sleep-inducing

Yeah this is not what it needs to be. I'm down with some sad dad music. But not like this.

I thought he had a unique voice, but the music was so repetitive and uninspired that i couldn’t take it seriously. Songs can have more than four lyrics, Bill!

If this mumbly motherfucker can't be bothered to actually sing I can't be bothered to ever listen to this utter garbage again. This is a desperate "add something new" entry to the list. Gets a second star because it very nearly helped me have a nice little desk nap.

Old white man says. They all end up here, huh? 2.4.

Nah

Wanted my first review to be a positive but struggling here. Songwriting is mournful but without verve, like a half baked Nick Cave. Voice resonates but not quite Cohen-esque. Melodies are pleasant enough for (very) background ambience. Ed ma clack Shaw was a highlight if only for the tempo change. If this is poetry, give me prose.

I know what he's getting at, but Bill Callahan, much like Howe Gelb, is not a a vocalist who endures soulfully or feelingly: too wispy, too quiet, and too deliberately mellow and inoffensive. Nature and the American West are his muses, but he fails to be as expansive or as explosive as the aesthetics inherent to that part of the country. There are certainly some moments of instrumental beauty, like the luscious strings at the end of 'Too Many Birds,' but Callahan's lyrics do not carry out the music's elegance or energy. 'The leafless tree looked like a brain / The birds within were all the thoughts and desires within me.' That's bad. 'It's time to put God away.' As true as that is, it's sung sleepily when it should be harangued w/ gusto and w/ guts.

Apparently this album is Alternative Country, but it's not like any Country music that I've ever heard - I guess that's why it's Alternative. The music is quite pleasant and upbeat, but Bill Callahan's vocals are depressing - a friend of Leonard Cohen perhaps?

Didn't hate it. Didnt love it. He sang the same tone the entire album. The music was good.

1.5

Ik worstel me door het hele album. Het is een allergie-categorie. Erg saai, wat Dylan-achtig, maar toch met meer kwaliteit. Een 1 zou mijn beleving prachtig weergeven, maar dat doet ook wel weer onrecht. Een puntje extra maar.

I wanted to like this more than I did. Musically there's lots of interesting stuff happening- cool riffs and drums and mood changes. The string sections are cool and make things feel big. Vocally I don't really care for this, it's got a weird talking feel to it that doesn't always fit. There's a song or two where everything seems to fit together, but I think I'd enjoy this much more with a different vocalist.

Monotonous and boring.

Bill Callahan sounds about as uninterested in this album as I am. I guess it fits the vibe, but it's a monotonous and dull vibe. I’m a broken record, but I’m gonna call out the 1001 again for issues with selecting worthy 21st century albums and keeping them on the list. (This one has been removed, rightly so.) In my Fever Ray review, I cited many more deserving 2009 albums, so while I won’t repeat that list here there are much better albums even in a bit of a down year.

There have been like five of these albums that all sound the same. Some dude with a low voice who can’t really sing so he half talks. It’s not offensive. But it’s not good and every time I think, “so apparently just anyone can make an album then.” And it makes me wonder whether the guy picking these likes them because he sounds the same.

Dollar store Johnny Cash

Interesting and really mellow

This felt like a less seductive Leonard Cohen. They were on the verge of making a good song or two but fell short. 2.5/5

Gillade de första par låtarna sen började han låta som joni mitchell

уныло. нич запоминающегося, разве что тембр классный. а так как будто мегапримитивно

Pensavo peggio da come si presentava. Va beh

Is the thing that makes this album remarkable how little effort he put into it? Because that's the only thing that I can think of.

I had to make sure that this wasn’t the guy from a fuzzy noisy 90’s band that then went on to make deep-voiced singer-songwriter albums that 2010’s-era Pitchfork tried to convince me were good but that I just don’t get who was credibly accused of being a sex pest. But that’s Mark Kozelek. So we’re good. But this album isn’t.

I didn't love it, but it was listenable. Reminds me of Leonard Cohen.

Bit too weird and concept for me

Not my jam

Didn't like

Sounds like the love child of Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen. I listened to it, and I've been sitting on this review for awhile now cause I'm really not sure what to say about it other than it was "interesting".

A modern and more upbeat Leonard Cohen. I was okay with it at first, but the problem with a monotone voice over an entire album, is that it just gets stale. The instrumentation is cool throughout, but it's just the same voice with no really variety in the tone. The last song "Faith/Void" really dragged on. I think he wants to put God away. 2

Not a fan at all of his talk-singing style, but Too Many Birds was ok.

Like Cohen but even more monotone and boring

Smooth voice rrading poems while country stile music in the background. Wake me up when the album ends.

Pleasant the majority of the time. he sounds like an indie folksy Leonard Cohen. Has some of the elements that I can enjoy about indie folk, and also some of the aspects that make me cringe a little at it. The last song was downright insufferable , though, a complete drag of a song. Kinda ruined the experience. Fav song: “All Thoughts…”

He sounds too much like Jon Lajoie. All I can think of is The Birthday Song, and I’m waiting for the punchline.

The instrumental opening of the first song had some promise, but his voice really ruined it for me. Not just the quality of it, but it seemed badly mixed or something. Badly EQ'd. Sounded too present. Just looking him up on wikipedia apparently he was know for this lo-fi sound... recording tape albums on a four track recorder. The songs bled into each other so much I didn't even realize it was over until I checked how much longer I had to endure this album and realized it was already over. The songs were self-indulgent too--way too long and just annoying. "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" may be one of the more annoying songs I've heard recently. This was supposed to go with the Steely Dan "Pretzel Logic" album: Eek. I had to look up what sub-genre Steely Dan was to confirm what kind of rock I really don't like. And the answer is jazz rock. The song "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" was an instrumental that was somehow worse than the title would have you expect. Just looked up that that is a Duke Ellington track... doesn't make it less annoying to have to listen to on this album. "Through With Buzz" was the only song I found myself semi-grooving to.

It’s like this guy is trying to sing off key…too bad, because I would have really liked this album if he could sing at all.

Country

So much of this album was 'meh'. I like his voice, but the tonality and carrying notes felt flat. The music was ok, but nothing came out from the background.

Well those vocals became grating

I'm sorry, am I the only one who burst into laughter with, "I used to be darker/Then I got lighter, then I got dark again"? Or when he remembered being a horse? Despite his delivery, I'm having a real hard time taking this seriously. I'd LOVE to hear different lyrics (not nonsense) set to the music. Do you ever wonder what session musicians think of what they're playing? "How? How? How?" A whole dang album of this. Wow. "Sometimes I Wish WE Were an Eagle" so who is he merging with to become an eagle? One of the horses on the cover? Slightly more tolerable than Nick Fucking Cave, at least.

It doesn't feel like it's from the right time. It's oddly peaceful but in a bad way.

Ekki algjörlega laust við sjarma, en rosalega mónótón söngur og mjög drónkennd lög. Ætti kannski að gefa þessu fleiri sénsa, en það bara kallar ekkert á mig.

This is #day132 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... I knew this was country! It just couldn't have been the other way around. Although country is among my top worst genres on this list, this one was okayish. At times, the music was veering into this alternative/progressive folk-country kind of shit, which caught me off guard. And I like it when music makes me feel that way. But, again and again, is this the one you must listen to before you die? Why not include some Mark Kozelek stuff instead? Have you heard of Red House Painters or the new Sun Kil Moon? That's what I'm saying. I'm giving this a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day133.

None of this is particularly offensive and there are some beautiful lines (of poetry?). But if I’m going to dock Carole King points then Bill Callahan needs to learn what it’s like to play with the big boys. Sucks to be the palate cleanser on a heater of a week. Some of these songs sound like if Kermit the Frog finished his take for Rainbow Connection and then fell into a serious oxy habit. If I want to listen to log cabin music, I’d listen to Bon Iver who completely market corrected this guy (For Emma came out a year before this album). Sorry to Bill that he shares a score with Pere Ubu..that feels too harsh but we’ve got to start drawing some lines in the sand.

Lotta bird talk. Bill was fighting an uphill battle from the jump with that title/album cover combo. I think I could make space in my mind for something like this, but it would take an investment of energy I'm not willing to make. Bill sounds like a modern Leonard Cohen, and I struggle with this for the same reasons I struggled with that one.

If you’re going to sing this poorly, over such standard melodies, you better really bring it lyrically. Instead bill here is rambling on about tender willow branches and jaunty bees and too many birds and whatever the fuck.

Oh, god. One of the handful of albums we encountered so far that I dont get. Rococo Zephyr was one of the only songs I enjoyed. And for that, its 2 stars

On the face of it you would think i would really like this. It has a lot of the right components for something I really should like. So why is it that I really don't? Can't tell you, but I really don't 2

I quite liked his vocal style, but the album just too samey and dull. Liked the opener and the last track (although that was too long).

I should dislike this on paper, words like country and folk, enough to make me run for the hills, but I didn't. That could have been due to the little word 'alternative'. Once I'd got over his distinctive voice and settled into its gentle style and rhythms, there was a lot to like on first listen. Will I listen again? Probably not.

Ok listen 2/5

Okay. Just okay. I think I have mentioned how strings are a turnoff. I just dropped off.

For fuck's sake. I didn't like this the moment I saw the album title and cover. I listened, and liked it even less.

Not for me. Every song seemed to follow the same formula. By Too Many Birds I was done with this.

тригерящий тембр Леонарда Коэна, хоть вроде и более мелодичный и без этих ужасных снятий. но воспринимать это я всё равно не могу

Slow and drab.

eh the instrumentals are good but his spoken word monotone stories I did not care for

Some of these tracks have some fantastic modern country instrumentals, but not enough to get over the spoken word repetitive lyricism. I get it, just not my flavor.

This was mostly just boring. I managed to go through the album almost 3 times before I noticed because nothing stood out to me Standouts Rococo Zephyr 2/4

Not terrible. Some of the lyrics are interesting but the whole thing is pretty monochromatic

not a fan of the voice

It was ok. Nothing really sparked for me.

Not my cup of tea

Es un disco muuuy tranqui, planchado mal y que no deja mucho.

4/10 - It sounded like my horse that matt submitted in music league

Meh, just ok.

This was adequate at best. Bill's vocal range is only about 3 notes, which kinda ruined the music, which I actually enjoyed. Overall, though, I'm not a fan.

If you're into someone doing an impression of singing under their breath and/or spoken word over pseudo country-folk then this album is great. For me, this is just someone's dad that thinks they have a great singing voice and rents a studio to put the horror show onto tape. It's god awful and boring. I'd rather listen to Dirk Diggler's unreleased studio album on repeat than listen to this.

Didn’t like this at first. It grew on me. Background noise.

I must have missed the memo

2/5. I understand the genre where this derives from but I never had an easy time getting into it. The lyrics are nice and instrumentation is simple and beautiful. The issue is the voice where there is not much going on for feeling and emotion and the monotone talking can only take me so far without getting bored. The lyrics were nice but I felt like I would rather enjoy reading a book than this audiobook. Best Song: Jim Cain, All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast, Eid Ma Clack Shaw

Boring

Talented but no my jam. 2.5

Never heard of this artist. Too soft for me.

I didn't hate this but didn't love it. Kinda fit my mood the morning I listened to it as it was just easy listening. Won't listen to it again though.

I really didn’t have to listen to that before I died.

I like “Eid Ma Clack Shaw” alright (although I had already heard it a couple of times), but the rest of the album is just so boring.

Not enough variety in the music, and not enough vocal melody to contrast the distinctive voice.

I just can't get past the vocal delivery, but the music is good.

Boring..

I don’t mind weird voices, and I typically like experimental softer stuff ala Cotten Jones, etc. the instruments were good too but something didn’t click. This one dragged for me

There is nothing interesting here. I guess he’s trying to be another Leonard Coen. If I was into that, I’d just listen to Leonard Coen. But I’m not, so I’m not going to listen to either.

Not ridiculously bad

I have never heard of this artist and will probably never listen to this album again. Really didn’t enjoy it. The music/ tunes were lovely but I just didn’t like some bloke talking over them.

I’m not certain I need to listen to it before I die. It’s nice and I like Callahan’s voice. Can it be just that?

At first I thought this album was pretty deep and Callahan was a singer like that guy from the national with the super deep voice. As the album progressed I realized he just isn’t that good of a singer and lyrically this is pretty good but it doesn’t make the album stand out that much. It’s a calm low toned album of various different life perceptions. 5.5/10

I dig that he has an interesting voice and the music was actually pretty cool but I’m rating a 2 because to me it doesn’t sound like it was properly recorded like they weren’t sure how to mic him so this is a 2 for technical reasons.

Ok

Something about his voice timbre and/or the forwardness of his voice in the mix doesn’t really match the instrumental sound. Or maybe it’s that he doesn’t really sing so much as talk. I mostly liked the instruments (3.0)and mostly disliked his singing (2.0). 2.5

Maybe a 3

Gillade andra låten. I övrigt fanns det ju mer att önska.

This one didn’t hit do it for me. I get his vibe and the Leonard Cohen-esque voice and delivery, but it didn’t work for me. And I had to end the last song because it was way too repetitive for nearly 10 minutes.

Writing this one a bit away from listening, but it felt like a bit of a slog. Poetry for sure, but not something I’d revisit.

No jaa. Ihan hauskoja hokemia, mutta aika lauleluksi meni, mitä nyt välillä erikoisuudentavoittelun puolelle (sanoituksissa). En lämmennyt.

i enjoyed the instrumentals, just didn’t care for the singer

Very Nick Drake inspired. Some cool lyrics, but don't love the melancholy vibe. My second time hearing this in the last few years, put on my do not repeat list, but decided to give it one more shot. Same outcome.

Appealing voice, unusual sound. And sooo boring.

Never heard of this guy, obviously a big influence on David Berman and Silver Jews

This was interesting. Never need to listen to it again.

The music is lush and pleasing, but the voice is fucking awful. I can't do it.

Gives me a little bit of Leonard Cohen vibes? 2.5

Boring. Not bad, but not my thing at all. 2.3.

Don’t like this guys voice.

Nice voice

Like the guitars and drums, the spare arrangements. I also like his voice. Inflections sometimes annoying. Lyrics are a bit too avant-garde poetry spacy weird for me. Then came Invocation of Ratiocination, which was both weird and annoying. My first impression of guys like this is they smarter than me and I just don’t get it. But then I realized he’s just weirder than me, and I still don’t get it.

Kinda boring, sounds like a folk-emo thing with a guy who has a deep voice. Faith/Void is nice: "it's time to put god away" over and over are magnificent lyrics and has a haunting melody.

Meh...it's fine for a singer songwriter album, but it's really not all that interesting either. His voice borders on my biggest pet peeve of singers who sound bored while singing. Favorite track: Eid Ma Clack Shaw

Very inspired but not inspiring.

Weird

How come no one in this guys life suggested he should try actually singing his lyrics

Have never heard of Bill Callahan. It's not a bad album. I feel that I could write a song like Rococo Zephyr and play the same three chords... Maybe I'm giving myself too much credit.

Really pretty album. I appreciate this type of music, but not quite my style. Love the bird theme though, especially “Too Many Birds.” Album art and name is cool too.

Made it through 3 songs then fell asleep. Good deep voice and musicianship but otherwise just meh

Different....hummm.

Not for me

This is a pretty decent "winding down for the day" album. Very low key and many times beautiful instrumentation (especially the orchestral parts). It does not speak to me, and I don't enjoy Callahan's singing all that much...very little range. Favorite tracks: The Wind and The Dove, My Friend, All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast.

The album title threw me but the cover is pleasant enough. The first song starts very pretty; pretty and sad. But overall, bleh. This album is not really meant for me any more than the Ice Cube I just listened to. In a totally different way, of course. If this album speaks to you, great. It is lovely and has something to say. Far from the worst, or most boring, music on this list. But where I loved discovering Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left, but Bill Callahan just doesn't have the same level of, I don't know, honesty and beauty, sense of melody and pacing, to make me like his brand of sad slow music. It plods where it should float. Is there something here unique or superlative or influential enough to be on this list? I don't know about the latter, but on the other points no, I don't think so.

This one did nothing for me. I don't know if it's accurate or not, but this feels like a good songwriter who thought he'd give a crack at singing/arranging and it just didn't work for me. The songs were simple and that doesn't bother me. But the signing was just boring.

I really only liked the first song it's like really good!

Nice voice, but that's it

A bit boring

Kudos for the Nick Drake facsimile circa Bryter Layter. It has a stilted awkwardness to it thought, which prevents me from resting in it.

Yet another filler album in this curated list. I wonder, what was it the curators thought I should not miss out on by listening to this album, but I can’t come up with an answer.

Beautiful instruments. Horrible voice. Like a man on a bustop that won't stop talking to you. American Elbow with monotone vocals.

# 147 : omg - Sounds like a Dad singing in a make shift recording studio! A deep, slow vocal delivery brings with it feelings of gloom and despair… couldn't keep my eyes open trying to listen to this. Eid Ma Clack Shaw

I've been quite a fan of the country that has been on this list, but this album is a baffling choice. Nothing about this is exceptional and it's completely middle of the road. You forget songs and they aren't even finished.

sehr ... sedierend 🥱

This album felt like Portland in the early aughts in the most boring way possible. There were some tracks I didn't mind, but man the closing track was horrendous. Not just the content, but lazy songrwriting, and monotone singing ended this album on a really flat note.

Absolutely dull. Sounds like the dude was trying hard to be John Prine but completely missed the mark. A real snooze fest.

I always feel like I'd like to get into this sort of music but I think it's just not really clicking. Some of the lyrics are pretty good and has voice has a certain uniqueness.

The original alternative rock album.

Didn't vibe the slow lazy feeling of the songs

Finns nåt där, men når inte riktigt upp till en 3:a. Lite väl trött i längden, men eventuellt skulle jag kunna omvärdera efter en till lyssning

Serene slow music with a tone deaf man sing talking nonsense. 4/10

Too depressing

Inoffensive.

the first half of the album he talk-sings like he doesn't want to be there. only 2 good songs: all thoughts are prey to some beast, and faith/void

Sounds like music of great quality, but it's either not my style at all or there's something that's very off in some other aspect of the music.

Who knew the former Nebraska football coach had a recording career in him?

Who the fuck mixed this mans voice, because they might have made the most uncomfortably “close” feeling vocals I’ve ever heard. Sounds like dude is inside of my ear canal. Music isn’t bad, gets into a bit of progressive feeling folk with experimental shit mixed around. Unfortunately any semblance of enjoyment is dispersed by the atrocious vocals. Nothing caught my ear, but instrumental aspects were fairly polished, so that bumps it to a 2.

Slow, didn’t bother

couldnt get past the draining voice

Snooze

5/10 - Great vocals - weird album A lot of slow talking but deep thinking

I thought I was going to love this album for the first couple of tracks, the stripped-down simplicity and strange plainness of Bill’s voice really appealed to me, but the further along I got the more it felt like pretty good poems set awkwardly to music by someone who’s more a lyricist than a musician. I would’ve enjoyed this as a poetry zine, but as an album it got boring fast.

Good voice, could listen to this on a road trip. Nothing crazy just a casual listen.

Best Song: Faith/Void. Although verging on overlong, it felt like this was an actual opportunity for the songwriter to tell a story with depth. Worst Song: Invocation of Ratiocination. Don't know what that old-timey ghost was doing on this record, but get her off of there. Overall: Extraordinarily plain. The lyricism is indeed nice, but his voice is not so interesting as others (e.g., Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen), to really keep you interested.

Not bad but it's kinda boring

Listened Before? N I can see how this would be some folks' favorite album/artist. To me, it just got old after a few songs. The story telling was okay, the music was a novelty for a bit, but then it all started to blend together. Too much of the same tempo and sound. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Jim Cain

Bland, tedious, and his voice is annoying.

Kändes repetitivt, tråkigt och oinspirerat på alltför många låtar. Varför inget av smog?

Although not an unpleasant listen, there's not really enough going on here to leave a mark, other than his Lou Reedesque voice. The songs are not as strong as Lou Reed's.

My first experience with spoken word country (no, what he's doing here can't be counted as singing). Hopefully it's the last one too. The drummer phoned it in, the strings are ample, and the poetry is so intentionally ambiguous, it makes us wish we were a cormorant. See what us did there? Two cormorants out of five

Normally I'd love an album with a cover like this but honestly I restarted the first track three times because I just couldn't pay attention. Not sure how this made the top 1001 list but maybe I'm just in a mood?

The title really built this one up but it was honestly pretty underwhelming. It wasn't bad it just felt like a straight, less good Orville Peck. I liked Too Many Birds, Faith/Void was by far my least favorite the whole song is 10 minutes and it's literally the same thing over and over again.

Fairly dull

Beautiful slow compositions, but not a fan of spoken word singing. Album isn’t for me.

"Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle" by Bill Callahan is an album that struggles to leave a lasting impact. Released in 2009, it's a collection of introspective and somber tracks that aim for emotional depth but often come across as monotonous. Tracks like "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" and "All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast" showcase Callahan's deep voice and reflective lyrics. The album's production is minimalist, which complements its contemplative atmosphere. However, the album's pacing can be sluggish, and its introspective nature might alienate listeners seeking more dynamic engagement. While it holds moments of emotional honesty, "Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle" lacks the diversity and intrigue needed to maintain a consistently engaging listening experience.

The songs are something I picture a dad singing to his kids at bedtime and they like them until they turn 10. I'm over 10 years old and not his kid.

Not for me

I didn't really get the appeal. He has an interesting sound, sure but it's just not doing it for me.

All these Callahan albums sound exactly the same and cover the same thematic ground every time, you would think he would at least find something different to write about or a different tuning to try after a while

Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle is the second solo album by American singer-songwriter and musician Bill Callahan. This alternative country album received many positive reviews from critics and charted decently in both Europe and the US. It was a relaxing country record to listen to and I appreciated having a chance to hear it. Although it's not my go-to music choice.

"Well this guy can't sing and his music is slow and boring. Let's put his album in the 1001 albums list anyway" - Robert Dimery, probably. 2/5.

All a bit boring. It would have disappeared without trace without the performers former pedigree. It's a nice voice and there are some good lyrics here and there. But eminently missable.

Some kinda weird indie country? It's got some interesting sounds to it but tbh my biggest complaint is that it's mixed like shit

Little bit boring after while....

Whilst the album is introspective and thought-provoking, the almost spoken-work dragged out lyrics take away some of the enjoyment. Bill Callahan’s lyrics are introspective and enigmatic, leaving room for interpretation and personal reflection. However I didn’t enjoy a lot of the songwriting, especially the repetitive parts. Even though it wasn’t my cup of te, Bill Callahan can put together some interesting themes with his writing. Tracks like "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" and "Rococo Zephyr" showcase his ability to craft evocative narratives. The instrumentation does it’s part as well, with each instrument serving a purpose and adding layers of depth to the overall sound. The album definitely has it’s good parts as well, like the lush, orchestral arrangements and delicate guitar melodies on the title-track. The production work is however not flawless either and there are moments where the pacing can feel slightly monotonous. Some tracks blend together, making it difficult for individual songs to stand out. However, this can also be seen as a deliberate choice to maintain the album's cohesive atmosphere. Overall I do think there are many many indie folk records better than this one, I appreciate the big effort from Callahan, I guess.

Super weak spoken word pop/country? Yuck 1.5

Nice relaxing album with some good strings and acoustic guitar. Other than that, didn’t get much out of this one.

Meh

Sopisi ehkä sunnuntaille aamupalan valmistukseen tai kun on menossa nukumaan ja pitäisi alkaa rahoittumaan. Rauhoittavaa ja rentoa.

Ei nyt sinänsä mitään pahaa sanottavaa. Liian pitkä noin pliisuks, jos jotain pitää keksiä

By the album art looks like county, but per Wiki, he's Lo-fi, Alternative country, Alternative/Indie, Underground music, Neofolk, Gothic country, Metal. Quite the spread of genres. Pretty guitar on the first song. Slow chill beat. Nice voice. His diversity is even present within this album. The Wind and The Dove starts out with a nice Arabic riff. Rather enjoying this so far.

Hmm, a soft one. Bill Callahan has a great baritone voice. Slow and methodic pace throughout. Soft with almost no variation. While I appreciated this album, I'm not sure I'd ever listen to it again.

No idea why this would make it to someone's top album of the year. Totally fine background music, but essentially boring.

Not sure why this album is on this list. I found it very boring.

3/10. I wish we were an eagle so we didn't have to listen to this boring-ass album and could go do something cool instead like catch a fish in our bare hands, but oh well I guess you can't have everything.

Better than other country albums I’ve come across here so this one gets bumped up to a 2, not the usual 1

Quand il n'est pas trop occupé à imiter Nick Cave ou plus généralement être une personne sans intérêt, Bill Callahan se prend parfois à souhaiter que plusieurs personnes soient un aigle. Grand bien lui fasse.

Instrumentals were ok but the rest was pretty boring

Voða rólegt og kósí, en greip mig ekki.

Not my thing.

Weird journey. Sing talking to a few good songs. Lots of western themes but also kinda modern? I don't know. Like the song my friend. Didn't hate it. Didn't love it. 2 stars (maybe harsh?)

Very Leonard Coen, Johnny Cash vocal. Nice acoustic instruments for music.

Not sure what I think about this one. The music is interesting, kind of ELO on a budget. The lyrics? I don’t know

If this dude would just shut up, this might not be so bad. Ah... now I see he was the backup guy on, then girlfriend, Joanna Newsom's Ys, and it all makes sense...

Im struggling with this one. On one hand I hated it. On the other hand I can get how this would hit for someone. If I was being objective, I’d give it a two. I personally hated this so much though.

I’m sure this appeals to someone, but I really struggled to find something I liked about this.

The orchestral backing music caught my interest at times, but I just really couldn’t get behind the free-meter type of talk-singing.

Mediocre man given a mic

Hmmm he has some Leonard Cohen vibes? But way more... Boring... I couldn't get through a lot after just the first song...

Kinda slow kinda boring

Nice voice

Meh

this is what happens when a straight man tries to be sufjan stevens

Not the vibe at all

Nope. That was awful. Who listens to this drivel?

Just a dude talking his lyrics over Casio-style music playing in the background. And monotonous refrains, particularly the final song. Absolutely no reason for this on the list.

Didn’t know Bill Callahan before this. Not my type of music. Found it incredibly dull and boring and actually annoyed me so much I didn’t finish it.

I'm sure he is great and profound, but that was hard. At times thought I was listening to Hobo Johnson's depressed uncle. All of the bird imagery will likely boost my rating bc I have now reached bird-watching dad mode. Otherwise, too poetic I guess for my retarded brain. The only song I took time to read into was faith/void because at first listen (and after dissection) I found it to be an eye-roll-inducing song (admittedly because of it's apparent indignation towards religion™️). Sounded like a kid with a distorted version of God going to college, discovering atheism, and deconstructing a faith he never really understood (evident by the surface-level take on problem of evil) just to replace it with his own "truth" (that really reduces to preference when separated from a worldview that gives them objective meaning. Rant against moral relativism to follow 😆). I can speak from experience having been a lite version of that kid in college (though I was more enlightened bc I considered myself agnostic 🧐)...

Just boring. Couldn’t get through it.

92. cant sing

Never heard of this before and will never listen to again. Just doesn’t do anything for me.

Jamais écouté avant. Des mélodies répétitives, des arrangements bancals, un parlé-chanté qui voudrait paraître détaché mais qui sonne surtout paresseux. Un album qui se voit beaucoup plus intelligent qu'il ne l'est vraiment. On s'ennuie ferme. Top : Eid Ma Clack Shaw Flop : Invocation of Ratiocination

I absolutely cannot deal with spoken word "songs." I love actual country music, so when I saw the genre of this album, I was looking forward to hearing an artist that was new to me. Now I know why I haven't heard of him. This sounds like Leonard Cohen, who I also VERY MUCH dislike as a performer. If you'll excuse me, I'll take the time I saved not trying to get through this and listen to Zach Bryan or Sturgill Simpson ⭐.5

Mr Rogers music

Dreadfully boring. The clarity and crispness of his admittedly good voice was just so counter to the folksy feel that I feel the album would’ve benefited from. Felt like the same song 9 times.

Bill Callahan KNOWS he can't sing, and he's not even gonna try!

Didn’t like this Album at all! No idea how it got on the list!

Smegma

Terrible

Not good. Bill doesn't even sing.

Jesus Christ what a snoozefest. I normally enjoy folky music, but this guy doesn't even sound like he's singing. He just kind of... musically speaks? Never coming back to this one.

ima veoma ozbiljan glas, nisam to očekivala iskreno. ozbiljan u smislu dubok, a i pomalo kao da više recituje nego što peva haha. ponekad mi je mnogo teško da razlikujem dobru i lošu muziku i ovo je taj trenutak. upravo je rekao fucking a pesma nije obeležena da je explicit. listen, im not a prude, ali ta oznaka postoji sa razlogom. brat samo izmišlja reči, respect. three songs in and im sick of this man, hes just saying whatever at this point. plus produkcija je toliko haotična, nema veze što je ovo neka indi/alternativna spora muzika, na svakih 5 sekundi upada novi instrument sa novom melodijicom. to naravno može da bude dobro ako je dobro urađeno, ali ovde samo imaš osećaj pretrpanosti. gotov je. ovo je ubedljivo najdosadniji, a borim se da ne kažem i najgori, album koji sam ikad poslušala. toliko neinspirisan, prepotentan, ugh. tekstovi svih pesama su ekvivalenti rečenici ''trava je zelena, nebo je plavo'' - nula umetničkog duha ili bilo kakvog truda da ovaj album, koji se najviše oslanja na singer-songwriter aspekt muzike (iz nepoznatog razloga), ima bilo kakvu koherentnu temu/priču, bilo šta da ovo bude barem podnošljivo za slušanje. ali nije podnošljivo i to najmanje zbog tekstova zapravo. ne znam ko je ovom čoveku dopustio da peva i smišlja melodije (ako ih uopšte on i smišlja) jer nisam dugo čula ovako loše melodije (ni glas njegov mi se ne sviđa, ali to je više subjektivno - melodije su objektivno loše). produkcija je gitara, bubanj, violina ponekad, na najdosadniji, i u svakoj pesmi identično odsviran način. ponekad pokuša da napravi neki ''dinamičan'' momenat sa instrumentalizacijom i zabole me uši. gore sam pomenula da je u jednoj pesmi bilo 50 različitih instrumenata ali od toga je ubrzo odustao. slušala sam npr 6. pesmu i neironično rekla naglas zašto ja ovo slušam, ovo je užasno. žao mi malo ovog bila ali opet ne toliko, nisam ja kriva što mu je sranje album.

Has it's place in 1001 worst albums.

not so much my type a music

What the hell is this. Experimental with kind of stream of conscience lyrics, pretty good musicianship.

Not for me

Didn’t do it for me.