A River Ain't Too Much To Love - Smog
A River Ain't Too Much To Love Image
Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.9 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 15 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Bill Callahan's 12th Smog album finds him joined in the studio by such musicians as Jim White (Dirty Three) and Joanna Newsom.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. Stylus Magazine
    100
    The subtle backing musicians never overshadow Callahan’s reedy baritone and direct lyrics; they merely add subtle shading and light in the appropriate spots--a restraint reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s use of studio musicians on laid-back classics like John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline.
  2. Playlouder
    80
    A honky tonk Leonard Cohen, the music of Smog sounds like it's spent all its life half cut in a saloon bar way out in the American mid-west thinking far too deeply about love and life for far too long.
  3. Dot Music
    80
    An intelligent step forward from a unique and prolific troubadour.
  4. Blender
    60
    This time, he's playing with a minimalist, barely electric trio that wouldn't dare overshadow his sleepy-voiced utterances, painstakingly plucking one note at a time, and writing songs mostly about horses or mortality or both. [Jun 2005, p.115]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 29 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. plexus
    10
    Classic, you gotta hear this record.
  2. stephenm
    10
    A must have album, second only to the mighty "Illinoise" by Sufjan Stevens in my best of 2005
  3. LeonardoF
    10
    an album that gets better and better with each listen. the subtle (andmar marvelous) instrumentation helps us focus on his wonderful voice and lyrics.… Expand
  4. LawrenceP
    8
    "This one's called the well..."

See all 9 User Reviews

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