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List Price : $16.49 Price : $10.73
List Price : $16.49 Price : $10.73
Album Description
Callahan is back! Eessentially an ensemble recorded live in the studio, Callahan's Apocalypse is the corpus delecti. Something happened here! If tape is like meat, this record is the whole hog! Callahan, riding on the back of his band, corrals them all & guides them single-handedly through the valley with love & ferocity. This record makes us wonder what has really happened in the last 100 years, & what will happen in the next 10. The soul of your country called and left you a message. 7 messages.
- Indie, Singer/songwriter
Apocalypse Reviews
Apocalypse Reviews
| 9 of 9 people found the following review helpful  Strange beauty, By This review is from: Apocalypse (Audio CD) In some ways "Apocalypse" is less accessible than a few of his otheralbums. For most parts it's a stripped down affair, it's occasionally distorted, and the arrangements are not as gorgeous as those on his last release "Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle" or "A River Ain't Much To Love", but after a few listens it grows on you, and I think this holds togheter really well as an album. A couple of the songs are jazzier than anything he has done before, for instance "Universal Applicant" and "Bee's", with the flute parts. Others have those surprising and unusual transitions that Callahan handles so well; a small change of tempo, an unexpected twist, a sigh, a whisper,"a couple of hoots, a hello and a f##k all y'all"! He is one of very few artists that can make something quiet hit hard, and make sparse arrangements sound like a full orchestra. "Drover" is one of the standouts, it's the sound of the west with... Read more 7 of 8 people found the following review helpful Worth the Challenge it Presents. Maybe Bill's Most Accomplished Collection Yet., By This review is from: Apocalypse (Audio CD) For the last decade, like clockwork, singer/songwriter Bill "Smog" Callahan has released a new studio record every two years. Over the decade prior to that he released, on average, about one studio record per year. Now quite deep into his run, the still-young 44 year old musician has issued one of his most complete works yet, the seven-song, 40-minute Apocalypse, his first batch of new songs since 2009's excellent Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle. It's mature, fully realized and unique records like this that make artists like Callahan shine above others as a true man of his time.As you'd expect by now, the dark humor, startling wit and jaw-dropping poetic grace is all once again present, adding to the argument that Callahan (along with, in this writer's opinion, Will Oldham and the late Elliott Smith) is one of the three or four best songwriters of his time. And when I say songwriters, I'm mostly talking about lyrics here, as many of Callahan's songs, when simply put on... Read more 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful It's all Callahan., By This review is from: Apocalypse (Audio CD) A new Bill Callahan record is always an event as far as I'm concerned, even though I've yet to pick up his vinyl only live release from last year. After one listen, I felt 'Apocalypse' didn't really feel as personal as 2009's 'Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle' (for Bill or myself). But by about the forth spin, I think I may now like it even more. The line has always been blurred between what Bill releases as "solo" compared to what he released with his "band", but without question his solo stuff in general after packing up Smog has always been more cheery. It's still all Callahan after all. Of course if you're a fan, it's a must pick up, offering another seven tracks of sublime vocals/lyrics ("I'm a helpless man. So help me") and melancholy. Non-fans would be better to pick up 'Eagle' (or any Smog record) as a starting point over this one though probably.At first it feels slightly short despite clocking in at a healthy 40 minutes, but songs like `Drover', `Baby's Breath'... Read more |
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