Wild Love (album)

Wild Love
Studio album by
Smog
ReleasedMarch 27, 1995 (1995-03-27)
Recorded1994–1995
GenreLo-fi
Length35:16
LabelDrag City
ProducerRian Murphy
Smog chronology
Burning Kingdom
(1994) 		Wild Love
(1995) 		Kicking a Couple Around
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Q[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

Wild Love is the fourth album by Bill Callahan (also known as Smog), 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.

Critical reception

Wild Love has attracted favorable critical reviews. In a retrospective biography of Smog, AllMusic's Jason Ankeny called the album "a triumph of abject failure", seeing that it "reflected [Callahan's] bitter obsessions with stunning clarity."[4]

Cat Power later covered "Bathysphere" on her 1996 album What Would the Community Think.

Track listing

All tracks written by Bill Callahan, except where noted.[5]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bathysphere" 4:50
2."Wild Love" 1:35
3."Sweet Smog Children" 1:41
4."Bathroom Floor"
1:55
5."The Emperor" 1:11
6."Limited Capacity" 1:18
7."It's Rough" 4:45
8."Sleepy Joe"
  • Callahan
  • Dall
3:53
9."The Candle" 2:26
10."Be Hit" 2:23
11."Prince Alone in the Studio"
  • Callahan
  • Dall
7:15
12."Goldfish Bowl" 2:00
Total length:35:16

Personnel

  • Bill Callahan – vocals, guitar, keyboards
  • Cynthia Dall – guitar on tracks 8 and 11; vocals on track 11
  • Jason Dezember – drums on track 10
  • Ron Burns – drums on tracks 8, 11 and 12
  • Ian O'Hey – Chamberlin on tracks 9 and 11
  • Jim O'Rourke – cello on tracks 2, 4, 11 and 12
  • Rian Murphy – production
  • Konrad Strauss – engineering

References

  1. ^ Phares, Heather. "Wild Love – Smog". AllMusic. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  2. ^ "Smog: Wild Love". Q. No. 176. May 2001. p. 137.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Smog Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  5. ^ "Smog - Wild Love". Discogs. 1995.