A River Ain't Too Much to Love
2005 studio album by Smog
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A River Ain't Too Much to Love is the eleventh studio album by Smog, released on May 30, 2005, on Domino Records in Europe and on Drag City in North America. It is Bill Callahan's final studio album released under the Smog moniker. Callahan initially wanted to release the album under his own name, but decided against doing so after pressure from Drag City.[3]
| A River Ain't Too Much to Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 31, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | November 2004[1] | |||
| Studio | Pedernales, Spicewood, Texas[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:47 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Bill Callahan | |||
| Smog chronology | ||||
| ||||
A River Ain't Too Much to Love features guest appearances by Joanna Newsom and Thor Harris of Shearwater.[4][1] Music videos were produced for both "Rock Bottom Riser" and "I Feel Like the Mother of the World", the latter featuring actress Chloë Sevigny.[5][6] Both videos can be found on the "Rock Bottom Riser" CD single release.[7]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 76/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Cokemachineglow | 77/100[10] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10[11] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[12] |
| The Guardian | [13] |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10[14] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[15] |
| Q | [16] |
| Stylus Magazine | A[17] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Bill Callahan, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Palimpsest" | 2:52 |
| 2. | "Say Valley Maker" | 5:10 |
| 3. | "The Well" | 7:00 |
| 4. | "Rock Bottom Riser" | 5:44 |
| 5. | "I Feel Like the Mother of the World" | 3:09 |
| 6. | "In the Pines" (traditional) | 5:12 |
| 7. | "Drinking at the Dam" | 4:07 |
| 8. | "Running the Loping" | 6:55 |
| 9. | "I'm New Here" | 3:59 |
| 10. | "Let Me See the Colts" | 6:39 |
Cover versions
Callahan's "I'm New Here" is covered on (and used as the album title of) Gil Scott-Heron's final album.[18]
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.[1]
- Bill Callahan – vocals, guitars, various instruments, production
- Connie Lovatt – electric bass, vocals
- Jim White – drums
- Thor Harris – zills (on "Say Valley Maker"), hammer dulcimer and air drum (on "I Feel Like the Mother of the World")
- Joanna Newsom – piano (on "Rock Bottom Riser")
- Travis Weller – fiddle
- Steve Chadie – engineering
- Chris "Frenchie" Smith – mixing (on "I Feel Like the Mother of the World")
- Nick Webb – mastering (at Abbey Road)