Lightning FayFeatured Video Post: Bill Callahan April 23, 2012
There are a handful of musicians that hold a special place in my heart. They're players who I always recognized as important -- perhaps even great -- but I just couldn't listen to them. It wasn't that I didn't like them; it wasn't that simple. It was (and, in some cases, still is) an issue of not being able to enter into their sound. Usually it seems my problem resides with the singer's voice. Years and years went by, and I knew Bob Dylan was great, but I just could not get into it. Then one day, it just clicked. Suddenly I could hear it, and this whole, rich body of work opened up to me.
Recently I had the same thing happen with Bill Callahan. Nearly 20 years ago, I bought the "A Hit"/"Wine-stained Lips" 7-inch, and I liked it a lot. But when I heard bits of Smog's first couple of full-lengths, there was something about Bill's dry delivery that left me cold. I'm happy to report that I've finally found my way into his sonorous baritone, and am slowly working through his wonderful records in reverse order. Having started with last year's Apocalypse, I've gotten as far back as A River Ain't Too Much To Love (my favorite so far).
Here is a selection of tunes from Bill's latest period, from the last Smog record through the three Bill Callahan records. Expect more Callahan/Smog posts from me as I keep digging through this wonderful musician's back catalog.
