Red Apple Falls

Last updated
Red Apple Falls
Red Apple Falls.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 20, 1997 (1997-05-20)
RecordedOctober 30 – November 3, 1996
Genre Lo-fi
Length43:20
Label Drag City
Producer
Smog chronology
The Doctor Came at Dawn
(1996)
Red Apple Falls
(1997)
Knock Knock
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
NME 8/10 [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
Select 4/5 [5]

Red Apple Falls is the sixth album by Smog (the alias of Bill Callahan), released in May 1997 on Drag City and re-released in Europe in 2001 by Domino.

Contents

Background

Red Apple Falls was recorded by Jim O'Rourke and Callahan, with assistance from Phil Bonnet. It is the first of two Smog records produced by O'Rourke, and Callahan's third team-up with O'Rourke. O'Rourke also plays bass guitar, piano, Hammond organ, hurdy-gurdy and drums on the album.

Songs

"Ex-Con" was released as a single. An early version of "Red Apples" first appeared on Callahan's first EP Floating in 1991, and was later covered by Cat Power for her album The Covers Record . "I Was a Stranger" was redone by Callahan for the 2000 EP 'Neath the Puke Tree .

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bill Callahan.

No.TitleLength
1."The Morning Paper"3:22
2."Blood Red Bird"4:01
3."Red Apples"5:06
4."I Was a Stranger"3:23
5."To Be of Use"5:41
6."Red Apple Falls"6:49
7."Ex-Con"3:35
8."Inspirational"6:25
9."Finer Days"4:50

Related Research Articles

Jim ORourke (musician) Musical artist

Jim O'Rourke is a Tokyo-based American musician, composer and record producer. He has released albums across varied genres, including singer-songwriter music, post-rock, ambient, noise music, and tape experiments. He was associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene when in around 2000 he relocated to New York City, before moving to Japan, where he currently resides. O’Rourke is best known for his numerous solo and collaborative music projects, many of which are entirely instrumental, and for his tenure as a member of Sonic Youth from 1999 to 2005.

Bill Callahan (musician) American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Bill Callahan is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who has also recorded and performed under the band name Smog. Callahan began working in the lo-fi genre of underground rock, with home-made tape-albums recorded on four-track tape recorders. Later he began releasing albums with the label Drag City, to which he remains signed today.

Domino Recording Company UK based record label founded in 1993

Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Domino Deutschland and a French division called Domino France. In addition, Stephen Pastel presides over the subsidiary label Geographic Music, which releases more 'unusual' music from Britain and outside of the Western world. In 2011, the company announced that it was beginning a book publishing division, The Domino Press.

The Folk Implosion American band

The Folk Implosion is an American band founded in the early 1990s by Lou Barlow and John Davis. It was initially a side-project started by Barlow to explore different territory than that being canvassed with his primary band at the time, Sebadoh. The name is a play on the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The band was on hiatus from 2004-2020.

<i>Knock Knock</i> (Smog album) 1999 studio album by Smog

Knock Knock is the seventh studio album by Bill Callahan, released under his Smog alias. It was originally released through Drag City in January 1999. In Europe, it was released through Domino Recording Company.

<i>Wild Love</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Smog

Wild Love is the fourth album by Bill Callahan, released on March 27, 1995, on Drag City and re-released in Europe on Domino in 2001. Jim O'Rourke appeared as cellist on this album, his first collaboration with Smog. Drag City's producer Rian Murphy helped to develop a wider musical palette than its predecessor Julius Caesar.

<i>The Doctor Came at Dawn</i> 1996 studio album by Smog

The Doctor Came at Dawn is an album by Bill Callahan, released in 1996 on Drag City. It was re-released in Europe in 2001 by Domino. Callahan's occasional creative partner, Cynthia Dall, appears on the album.

<i>Dongs of Sevotion</i> 2000 studio album by Smog

Dongs of Sevotion is the eighth studio album by Smog. It was released on April 3, 2000 in Europe by Domino Recording Company and a day later in North America by Drag City. It peaked at number 28 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

<i>A River Aint Too Much to Love</i> 2005 studio album by Smog

A River Ain't Too Much to Love is the eleventh studio album by Smog. It was released on May 30, 2005 in Europe by Domino Recording Company and in North America by Drag City. It is Bill Callahan's final studio album released under the Smog moniker.

<i>Supper</i> (album) 2003 studio album by (Smog)

Supper is the tenth studio album by Smog. It was released in 2003 in Europe by Domino Recording Company and in North America by Drag City.

<i>Rain on Lens</i> 2001 studio album by Smog

Rain on Lens is the ninth studio album by Smog. It was released on September 17, 2001 in Europe by Domino Recording Company and a day later in North America by Drag City.

<i>Julius Caesar</i> (album) 1993 studio album by Smog

Julius Caesar is the third album by Bill Callahan, released in 1993 on Drag City. It was re-released in Europe in 2001 on Domino Records. After his two first LPs, which were recorded at home with an experimental lo-fi approach, Callahan decided to record this album in a professional studio. Nevertheless, he kept control over the recording process, with only Kim Osterwalder helping out on cello.

<i>Sewn to the Sky</i> 1990 studio album by Smog

Sewn to the Sky is an album by Smog, released in 1990 on Disaster Records. Most sources consider it to be Smog's first album, made after the release of several cassette-only recordings. It was re-released on Drag City in 1995. The experimental album combined home recording, substandard instruments and repetitive and noisy songwriting structures, and was an early example of the lo-fi genre.

<i>Accumulation: None</i> 2002 compilation album by (Smog)

Accumulation: None is a compilation of rarities by the American singer-songwriter Bill Callahan, released under his then alias, Smog. It was put out on November 4, 2002, in Europe by Domino Records and a day later in North America by Drag City. The compilation includes the then-new song "White Ribbon."

<i>Burning Kingdom</i> 1994 EP by Smog

Burning Kingdom is the second EP by Bill Callahan, released on Drag City in 1994 and later re-released in Europe on Domino. "My Shell" is an electric version of the 1991 single of the same name.

<i>Kicking a Couple Around</i> 1996 EP by Smog

Kicking a Couple Around is an EP by Bill Callahan. It was released on Drag City in April 1996 and re-released in Europe on Domino in 2001. "Your New Friend" was recorded during a 1995 John Peel radio session. "Back in School," "I Break Horses," and "The Orange Glow of a Stranger's Living Room" were recorded by Steve Albini.

<i>Neath the Puke Tree</i> 2000 EP by Smog

'Neath the Puke Tree is an EP by Bill Callahan. It was released on Drag City in 2000.

This a detailed discography of American singer-songwriter Bill Callahan. All of his work was released under the alias Smog, except where noted.

Cynthia Dall, sometimes known as "Cindy Dall", was an American lo-fi musician and photographer. Dall also gained notoriety in the fanzine world of the 1990s for her frequent transgressive-styled cover shots and appearances in Lisa Carver's Rollerderby magazine.

Drag City (record label) American independent record label

Drag City is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. Established in the city in 1990 by Dan Koretzky and Dan Osborn, its first release was a Royal Trux single. It specializes in indie rock, noise rock, psychedelic folk, alternative country, and experimental music. The label has featured numerous critically acclaimed artists, including Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Bill Callahan, Joanna Newsom, and Silver Jews.

References

  1. Phares, Heather. "Red Apple Falls – Smog". AllMusic . Retrieved February 25, 2006.
  2. Sullivan, Caroline (May 30, 1997). "Smog: Red Apple Falls (Domino)". The Guardian .
  3. Mulvey, John (May 24, 1997). "Smog – Red Apple Falls". NME . Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  4. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Smog". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  754–55. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  5. Mullen, John (June 1997). "Smog: Red Apple Falls". Select . No. 84. p. 107.