Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

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5...according to our Phil on Thu 09 Apr, 2009.

I'm not entirely sure why Bill Callahan dropped the whole Smog thing and decided to just be himself. If anyone knows let me know. I'm too lazy to look it up. 'Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle' is his 2nd album as himself (about his 20th otherwise) and it sounds delightful. The first time I heard it I thought it was great! Though his voice is starting to remind me of the fella from Lambchop. Is it Kurt Whossisname? So much so that when I heard a track the other I thought it was Lambchop. Maybe I'm just confused.... It doesn't take much.... The other thing I thought though was how much I loved his voice. The whole deepness.... It sounds like he's effortlessly singing from his feet. This new album has a more pastoral approach what with the classical instrumentation that's hovering behind the acoustic guitars and drums. Violins, pianos and french horns are all there... That and his amazing songsmithery (which is on the finest rueful form!) To be honest I wish I had time to listen to it all the way through now as I'm enjoying it so much but I have to turn it off to do something else. That blows... This doesn't though. It's an excellent album and it's yet another I'm gonna be taking home. The last few weeks have been killers. I'm running out of space!

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· Unfolding like a first view of paradise, then a slightly
less ecstatic second view of paradise, and then
finally a glance back over your shoulder at that
ridiculous notion of paradise, ‘Sometimes I Wish
We Were An Eagle’ is awfully pretty — something’s
clearly making Bill Callahan feel like a natural man.
And high in the saddle, with nine sweet new
tunes in tow, he’s riding herd over a diverse bunch
of sounds by top-notch players. Arranger Brian
Beattie brought some old friends back into the
picture: violins and French horns. Plus, recording
in the big state of Texas has given Bill Callahan a
panoramic soundscreen, filled with verdant and
sparkling sounds, all of which allow him access to
the depths of expression, allowing a gentle and
stirring view of that which we call ‘soul’.
· Singing as personally as ever while still spinning wild
yarns and melodic guitar fictions, Bill Callahan’s on
an idyll we hope won’t ever end.

Jim Cain * Eid Ma Clack Shaw * The Wind & The Dove *
Rococo Zephyr * Too Many Birds * My Friend *
All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast *
Invocation Of Ratiocination * Faith/Void