Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
Studio album by Bill Callahan
Released April 14, 2009
Recorded August and October 2008
The Track Studio, Plano, Texas
Genre Alternative country
Length 48:17
Label Drag City
Producer "Raven"
Bill Callahan chronology
Woke on a Whaleheart
(2007)		 Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
(2009)		 Apocalypse
(2011)

Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle is the second solo album by American musician Bill Callahan under his own name, released on April 14, 2009 via Drag City.[1] It was recorded by John Congleton and arranged by Brian Beattie.[2] In an interview with Uncut, Callahan described the recording of the album:

“ I recorded the basic tracks with a band, in August I think. Then gave the tracks to the arranger Brian Beattie to write some string and horn parts while I was on tour in South America and North America. When I got back we put the overdubs on, in an old fashioned way - four or five string players gathered around one microphone. The basic band is a couple fellers who I'd been touring with a bit lately, Jaime Zuverza on fine and pretty guitar - Brian described his playing style as "unmacho" which I thought was great. And Luis Martinez on special drums. The bassist was Bobby Weaver who was a friend of the engineer John Congleton. I could go on but this is supposed to be a short blurby interview, right?[3] ”

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The A.V. ClubA−[6]
The Daily Telegraph[7]
Entertainment WeeklyA[8]
Mojo[9]
NME8/10[10]
Pitchfork Media8.1/10[11]
Q[12]
Spin8/10[13]
Uncut[14]

Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle received very positive reviews from music critics and made several publications' year-end best album lists, notably being named the second best album of 2009 by Mojo magazine.

In 2013, NME listed the album at 443 in their list of the 500 greatest albums of all-time.[15]

Track listing

All songs were written by Bill Callahan.

  1. "Jim Cain" – 4:39
  2. "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" – 4:19
  3. "The Wind and the Dove" – 4:34
  4. "Rococo Zephyr" – 5:42
  5. "Too Many Birds" – 5:27
  6. "My Friend" – 5:12
  7. "All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast" – 5:52
  8. "Invocation of Ratiocination" – 2:41
  9. "Faith/Void" – 9:44

Personnel

Musicians
  • Bill Callahan – vocals, classical guitar, acoustic steel guitar, electric guitar, piano, Hammond organ, keyboards
  • Brian Beattie – electric guitar, pump organ, electric piano, keyboards, percussion, string and horn arrangement
  • Luis Martinez – drums
  • Bobby Weaver – bass
  • Jaime Zuverza – electric guitar
Recording personnel
Artwork
  • Bill Callahan – lettering and drawings
  • Chris Taylor – front photograph
Additional musicians
  • Brian Brown – French horn
  • Tamara Cauble – violin
  • Douglas Edward – violin
  • Becki Howard – violin
  • Buffi Jacobs – cello
  • Maureen Nilsen – violin
  • Deanna Sarkar – soprano vocals
  • Heather Test – French horn
  • Chris Youmans – cello

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] 90
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 128
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 58
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 89
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[20] 40
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[21] 16

Notes

  1. ↑ "News – Drag City". Drag City. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Progress Report: Bill Callahan - Stereogum". Stereogum. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Bill Callahan: "This is supposed to be a short blurby interview, right?"
  4. ↑ "Reviews for Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle by Bill Callahan". Metacritic. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  5. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle – Bill Callahan". AllMusic. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  6. ↑ Martins, Chris (April 14, 2009). "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ Perry, Andrew (April 15, 2009). "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  8. ↑ Pastorek, Whitney; Vozick-Levinson, Simon (April 14, 2009). "Extended Play: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Bill Callahan". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Mojo (185): 102. April 2009.
  10. ↑ Thornton, Anthony (March 30, 2009). "Album review: Bill Callahan". NME. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  11. ↑ Howe, Brian (April 17, 2009). "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Q (273): 100. April 2009.
  13. ↑ Modell, Josh (April 2009). "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Spin. 25 (4): 76. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  14. ↑ Mulvey, John (March 26, 2009). "Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle". Uncut. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  15. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 500–401". NME. October 24, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Bill Callahan | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Bill Callahan – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Bill Callahan. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Bill Callahan – Chart history" Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums for Bill Callahan. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
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