Red Apple Falls

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
After the success of his previous album, The Doctor Came At Dawn, Bill Callahan (who is Smog) joined forces with some of Chicago's and label Drag City's finest musicians to craft this album over a few days. The band atmosphere frees up Callahan's singing and the songs which verge into country music (in terms of what country once was and not what it presently is) seem far more open than previous efforts. The symbolism of the color red is a bit overdone ("Blood Red Bird," "Red Apples," and "Red Apple Falls") and an undercurrent of overseriousness threaten to defeat the album's relaxed nature. ("Ex-Con" loosens things considerably). The simple beauty of much of what's here is quite astonishing at times. --Rob O'Connor --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Red Apple Falls
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • excellent surprise!!!
  • Hypnotic...wicked...witty...musically & lyrically devestating...
  • Accessible Smog
  • (classic)
  • Good work but only rates 4 stars
 Red Apple Falls
Smog
Manufacturer: Drag City
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Lo-FiLo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Indie RockIndie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Singer-SongwritersSinger-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B0000019QV
Release Date: 1997-05-20

Tracks:

  1. The Morning Paper
  2. Blood Red Bird
  3. Red Apples
  4. I Was A Stranger
  5. To Be Of Use
  6. Red Apple Falls
  7. Ex-Con
  8. Inspirational
  9. Finer Days

Amazon.com

After the success of his previous album, The Doctor Came At Dawn, Bill Callahan (who is Smog) joined forces with some of Chicago's and label Drag City's finest musicians to craft this album over a few days. The band atmosphere frees up Callahan's singing and the songs which verge into country music (in terms of what country once was and not what it presently is) seem far more open than previous efforts. The symbolism of the color red is a bit overdone ("Blood Red Bird," "Red Apples," and "Red Apple Falls") and an undercurrent of overseriousness threaten to defeat the album's relaxed nature. ("Ex-Con" loosens things considerably). The simple beauty of much of what's here is quite astonishing at times. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars excellent surprise!!!.......2006-11-10

when I first listen smog in a radio station here in mexico city, I was wonder how an entire album would sound, and when I get "red apple falls" randomly I was amazed by the power of the lyrics and the sound itself, I don't now how this band is not that famous yet (and it'll never gonna be for sure, but still it's really worth listening!!!!)

4 out of 5 stars Hypnotic...wicked...witty...musically & lyrically devestating..........2006-01-08

Only gave 4 stars because this album isn't for everyone, and a 5-star review makes people go out and buy stuff. In this case if a lot of people did that, they'd be disappointed and would post negative reviews here.

I gave this album to an intelligent musician with great taste, and he said he couldn't get through it because it's too slow. So again, it's not for everyone. With that said, when this album first came out in 1997/8 I turned several other people onto it and it stuck in permanent rotation in all of our collections for months and months.

It's a minimalist album, and it does unfold at Bill's own pace. But holy schmidt, pretty much every time you listen to it layers upon layers show themselves, and you're slack-jawed. A friend listening to him stammered with respect, "You just...you just can't DO that!"

Best listened to in fall/winter. It's the musical and thematic equivalent to bare branches sillouted against a bleak sky.

And it's a dark as hell album. Lyrically sardonic, self-observing, sad, removed, mildly sadistic, more than mildly self-loathing, resigned, anguished, amused and amusing, charming, engaging, self-deprecating, astonishingly witty, narrative-driven. Musically it's haunting, hypnotic, and quite beautiful. He's brilliant.

For example, the first track, "The Morning Paper," opens for several bars with singular, repetitive, dissonant notes on an accoustic guitar, against a dull low buzzing backdrop, and then Bill's voice, sounding tentative and slightly disoriented, comes in for just a few lines...his character wakes up logily and, not finding compelling reason to fully come to consciousness, capitulates to lethargy to "roll right over/and go to sleep/the evening sun/can be so sweet."

Then--still in the space of maybe 6 lines--introduces the concept of "this thing...Red Apple Falls," seemingly an allegory for the place his emotionally damaged and damaging protagonist had been in, in a complicated relationship where he behaved very badly, and basically now has the reaction of the scorpion in the scorpion and the frog story (when asked why the scorpion has stung the frog who is giving him a ride across a river, since they'll both sink and drown -- i.e., "it's in my nature...I'm a scorpion").

But many other reactions and ripples are revealed throughout the album, its stories, anecdotes, and side trips.

Some people have commented on Bill Callahan's lack of vocal strength or something...I disagree. This is a pretty emotional album. And Bill's voice is an expressive instrument. You won't hear his voice crack or eep out uncertainly or tiredly without it tying into the album's narrative. And often he sings in the monotone of someone still in the aftershock of whatever that trip into Red Apple Falls was all about.

Last note: I like other Smog albums a lot too--but this is my hands-down favorite--and have *not* enjoyed Bill Callahan live, at all, much to my chagrin.

5 out of 5 stars Accessible Smog.......2004-08-02

Smog's Red Apple Falls is indicative of Bill Callahan's direction towards a more easy-to-swallow pill of indie folk. The songs have more form, the instruments are all pretty much conventional instruments, and Callahan's voice has adopted a rather soothing drawl. That's not to say Callahan has dumbed down his sound in any way. Instead of the lo-fi mess-terpiece of Wild Love, we have the country-tinged Red Apple Falls, a record filled with Callahan's usual tales of lost love and lost confidence. The pedal steel takes a rather prominant role on many of the album's more fleshed-out tracks such as "Inspirational," giving the album a sort-of alt-country feel reminiscent of Will Oldham's work. Sitting along with a rather uncharacteristic slice of upbeat pop ("Ex-Con") are some of Callahan's best pieces of minimalist folk. While "Red Apples" and "To Be Of Use" are carried by rather simple piano and guitar figures, they say so much with so little as the cliché goes. Thus with this record, Callahan has proven himself a master of both the full-band and the lone musician. Red Apple Falls is a great starting point for any potential Smog fan.

5 out of 5 stars (classic).......2003-06-27

I own just about all of the official Smog releases from the gritty home tape recordings, to the newer albums that will keep some steady friends around. This is by far the best (Smog) album that I've heard. Think Leonard Cohen meets The VU w/a touch of beautiful pedal steel over the top of it all. This album really is amazing and it embraces all of the different stylings that Bill Callahan employs throughout all of his works. From violent pop songs set over a cheary beat (ala Ex Con), to the isolated and introspectiveness w/a gritty sense of humor (es Stranger). This album really hits home. The one thing that may annoy new comers to this album is the heavy handedness of all the symbolism that reoccurs throughout the album. To me it's perfect but to others it can possibley ware you down. If you get this album and are looking for more Smog to listen to then the next logical step is Knock Knock. If you own Knock Knock and want more of the same then pick this one up.

4 out of 5 stars Good work but only rates 4 stars.......2003-01-08

it's interesting to see that most of the other reviewers don't give this CD more than 4 stars. I admire it. The songwriting is clearly intelligent and the performances are tastefully restrained. Maybe I just heard too much of this low-key sort of thing lately (Jim O'Rourke, some of the Tindersticks, etc.) and so it did not really overwhelm me. Worth checking out but not especially compelling.

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