Supper

There's no real narrative thread that runs throughout this album, which simply makes it a good record rather than a Smog classic to rank with Knock Knock or The Doctor Came at Dawn. Still, it's further proof that Callahan is one of the most gifted songwriters working in American music today. --Louis Pattison

The album sounds like the Velvet Underground with a twist of country. And they've spent several years living in Oklahoma reading Ken Kesey,Jim Dodge,& listening to the One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest OST! Feather By Feather & Vessel In Vain are my favourites though all the tracks are good...buy it you won't be disapointed!


A Wondrous Supper with Bill Callahan   April 11, 2004
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Smog, which is to say Callahan plus guests, has probably recorded his most accessible and bright album to date. Now, "accessible" or "bright" are terms that must be qualified, when it comes to Smog. The wise irony of his lyrics and stark melodies, which have been staples of Callahan's songwriting are very much present here too, yet these songs seem to reveal a new phase of his personal and artistic development. As he said in one of his early songs, "I'm gathering splinters / to make a raft someday," and so he has and he's, it is my intuition, more interested in reaching you, than ever before. This is particularly poignant in "Truth Serum," "Anniversary," and, my personal favorite, the quirkily countryish "Feather By Feather," songs that combine the precision and irony of his best lyrics, with unassumingly simple yet enthralling melodies. This album should rank with "Knock Knock" or "Red Apple Falls," although its mood is definitely lighter by Smog standards, as a work of high consistency and weight. As Callahan says himself, in "Feather By Feather," this is music for people "who when they do the movie of your life / they gonna have to ask you to do your own stunts."


Back porch rock   April 30, 2003
 2 out of 5 found this review helpful

I haven't heard any of Smog's previous albums, but this is one very fine album indeed. It manages to be both unmistakably rock and unmistakably country at the same time. The vocals are pure Nashville, but musically we're in a territory which borders on Neil Young and U2, and which has diplomatic relations with Velvet Underground and even Jesus & Mary Chain. It's a laid-back and low-key kind of album, without being particularly quiet. Actually, it's rather intense, but this has to do with authenticity and authority rather than noise and pace. High points include 'Feather by feather', 'Truth Serum' & 'Anniversary', but it's difficult to name any sub-standard tracks, as the album works very well as a whole. If you like your country rock with a twist, 'Supper' is highly recommended.


Back porch rock   April 24, 2003
 1 out of 6 found this review helpful

I have not heard any of Smog's other recordings, but that does not prevent me from thinking that 'Supper' is a very good album indeed. It manages to be both unmistakably country and unmistakably rock at the same time. The vocals are pure Nashville, but musically we're in a territory that borders on Neil Young and U2, and which has diplomatic relations with Velvet Underground and even Jesus & Mary Chain. It is not a noisy album - it is laid-back and low-key, sincere and melodious, authentic and authoritative. So if you like your country rock with a twist, this supper should satisfy you very nicely.


Backporch Rock   April 16, 2003
 1 out of 5 found this review helpful

Let me begin by admitting that I haven't heard any of Smog's previous recordings. However, this does nor prevent me, I think, from honestly feeling that this is a very good album indeed. It is a laid-back kind of thing, but nevertheless unmistakably rock, just as it is unmistakably country. The vocals are pure Nashville, but musically we're entering territory that borders on Nick Cave and U2, and which has diplomatic relations with Velvet Underground or even Jesus & Mary Chain. This is a record to put on when the party is winding down, but people are still awake, a record for long drives through barren lands. High points include 'Feather by Feather', 'Truth Serum' and 'Our Anniversary'. This is not an uptempo, fastpaced rock'n'roll album (au contraire), but there's an intensity, an authoritativeness and an authenticity that many rock bands should envy. If you like your country rock with a twist, this would be a good place to place your order.