Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

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]

Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
Studio album by
Bill Callahan
ReleasedApril 14, 2009 (2009-04-14)
RecordedAugust and October 2008
StudioThe Track Studio, Plano, Texas
GenreAlternative country
Length48:17
LabelDrag City
Producer"Raven"
Bill Callahan chronology
Woke on a Whaleheart
(2007)		 Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
(2009)		 Apocalypse
(2011)

Recording

Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle 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.[3]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[4]
Metacritic82/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. ClubA−[7]
The Daily Telegraph[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA[9]
Mojo[10]
NME8/10[11]
Pitchfork8.1/10[12]
Q[13]
Spin8/10[14]
Uncut[15]

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 number 443 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[16]

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

Charts
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 90
French Albums (SNEP)[18] 128
Irish Albums (IRMA)[19] 44
Scottish Albums (OCC)[20] 87
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 58
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 89
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[23] 2
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[24] 16
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[25] 40

Notes
  1. "Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle". Drag City. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  2. Suarez, Jessica (March 11, 2009). "Progress Report: Bill Callahan". Stereogum. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  3. Mulvey, John (February 23, 2009). "Bill Callahan: "This is supposed to be a short blurby interview, right?"". Uncut. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  4. "Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle by Bill Callahan reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  5. "Reviews for Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle by Bill Callahan". Metacritic. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  6. Jurek, Thom. "Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle – Bill Callahan". AllMusic. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  7. Martins, Chris (April 14, 2009). "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  8. Perry, Andrew (April 15, 2009). "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  9. Pastorek, Whitney; Vozick-Levinson, Simon (April 14, 2009). "Extended Play: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Bill Callahan". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  10. "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Mojo. No. 185. April 2009. p. 102.
  11. Thornton, Anthony (March 30, 2009). "Album review: Bill Callahan". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  12. Howe, Brian (April 17, 2009). "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  13. "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Q. No. 273. April 2009. p. 100.
  14. Modell, Josh (April 2009). "Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Spin. Vol. 25 no. 4. p. 76. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  15. Mulvey, John (March 26, 2009). "Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle". Uncut. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  16. "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 500–401". NME. October 24, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  17. "Ultratop.be – Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  18. "Lescharts.com – Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  19. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Bill Callahan". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  20. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  21. "Swedishcharts.com – Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  23. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  24. "Bill Callahan Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  25. "Bill Callahan Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
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