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Did get A River.., after much forgetting. It's excellent - hell if I know what the complainers were on about. It's got a lovely sound to the whole album - bare, but warm. River Guard comes to mind again - that quiet, gentle ebb and flow, with a really pretty tune buried under mountains of hush. Acoustic, with rarely anything more than a guitar and a snare backing the vocals up.
The one weak link in the piece is I Feel Like the Mother of the World - too much treble in the production, too much harsh percussion, jars you out from the experience. Other than that, pretty fucking great record. Rock Bottom Riser is the highlight - gorgeous tune, lyrics that have that Smog trick of layers within layers, eventually proving not to be about the thing you thought they were on your first few listens. As if to prove this, some reviews had it down as a straight love song - in truth, it's a fair old distance from that (well, imo, anyway - dude's singing about a love that's ripped his soul from him, laid him down low).
Callahan's voice is in prime form, too. He's got the half-spoken, half-sung, half-whispered (yeah, I know) bit down perfectly now.
Incidentally, to dredge up an old maybe-argument that I've let pass the last couple of times I've ended up bumping this thread, I don't get your objection to Callaghan, Jack. I mean, I know what you're talking about in the post you link to and the quoted section of SFD's, but I honestly don't believe it applies here. To the earlier Smpog albums, yes, but not to anything after the first four (possibly the first three - I've still not heard The Doctor Came at Dawn). Red Apple Falls and Knock Knock are chocka with gorgeous tunes, played beautifully. I just can't hear the purposeful avoidance of 'professionalism' that you suggested was present in this stuff. Unless you're only talking about the early albums, that is. And it's difficult to tell, with yr post to this thread being so enigmatic and non-specific.
Should have argued this four years ago, rather than letting it bug me once every twelve months, as the chances are that you've changed your mind in the meantime. |
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