Heron King Blues

2004 studio album by Califone

Heron King Blues

Studio album by

Califone

Released| 2004
Genre| Country rock, experimental rock
Label| Thrill Jockey
Califone chronology
| Deceleration Two
(2003)  | Heron King Blues
(2004)  | Everybody's Mother Vol. 1
(2005)

|
|

Heron King Blues is an album by the American band Califone, released in 2004.[1][2] It is in part a concept album about singer Tim Rutili's recurring bird dreams and ornithophobia.[3][4] The band supported the album with UK and North American tours.[5][6]

## Production

[edit]

Rutili was backed on most of the tracks by percussionists Ben Massarella and Joe Adamik and multi-instrumentalist Jim Becker.[7][8] Califone recorded the album in an improvisational manner, choosing to not start the sessions with existing songs or rehearsed structures.[4] The band was inspired by Captain Beefheart's Mirror Man, which was allegedly recorded in a single night.[9] Their initial plan was to record an EP that would give them a reason to tour.[10] The foundations of the tracks were completed in three days in a studio on the south side of Chicago, with the band then adding lyrics and overdubs.[11][12] They employed samples and looped beats on some of the tracks, and used steel guitar, bottles, and hand drums, among other instruments.[13][14] The 15-minute title track, which was inspired by a Druid mythical character appropriated by the Romans, is mostly instrumental.[15][10] "Trick Bird" was cowritten with members of the band Orso.[16] The making of the album was somewhat tense; after the band also had equipment stolen during their tour, they decided to take a break.[17]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [18]
Creative Loafing| A−[10]
The Gazette| [15]
The Herald| 3/5[19]
Pitchfork| 8.4/10[20]
Spin| B[21]

The New York Times stated that the album "ambles through stereo-warped slide-guitar twangs and hall-of-mirrors funk as Tim Rutili contemplates apocalypse without raising his voice."[22] The Chicago Tribune praised the "electronic experimentation" and "richly atmospheric tone poems"; the paper later listed Heron King Blues as the best local indie album of 2004.[23][24] The Herald said that the bandmembers "have a unique, fractured take on the blues and country-rock music of their country: this is psychedelic, bizarre, low-key lunacy."[19] The Times opined that "they seem to start out with complete chaos and somehow fashion a structure that mortal ears can comprehend (although the lyrics often still need some work)."[25]

The Observer concluded that "the rolling, often improvised sections recall at times the calmer passages of Captain Beefheart, but boast a spirit all their own."[26] The Toronto Star called the title track "a chugging, largely instrumental entry that sounds like a jam session involving Jeff Beck and an ensemble of new music gurus."[27] The Sydney Morning Herald noted that Califone "share a space with the likes of Tom Waits in sounding both banged-up and spacious at once, arriving at an uneasy but magnetic beauty the way they shape their sonic clutter."[28]

## Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Wingbone"|
2.| "Trick Bird"|
3.| "Sawtooth Sung a Cheater's Song"|
4.| "Apple"|
5.| "Lion & Bee"|
6.| "2 Sisters Drunk on Each Other"|
7.| "Heron King Blues"|
8.| "Outro"|

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Guarino, Mark (2023). Country and Midwestern: Chicago in the History of Country Music and the Folk Revival. University of Chicago Press. p. 430.
2. ^ Singer, Maya (Jan–Feb 2004). "Best New Music". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 120\. p. 44.
3. ^ Wheeler, Brad (September 4, 2004). "Some CDs we never got to...". The Globe and Mail. p. R8.
4. ^ a b Kot, Greg (January 23, 2004). "'Heron King Blues' is Califone magic". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.3.
5. ^ Hasted, Nick (April 16, 2004). "Califone Bush Hall London". The Independent. p. 29.
6. ^ "Somebody, Pick Up". Asheville Citizen-Times. May 14, 2004. p. D3.
7. ^ Jenkins, Mark (May 7, 2004). "Califone 'Heron King Blues'". The Washington Post. p. WW7.
8. ^ Meyer, Bill (January 22, 2004). "Califone". Arts & Culture. Chicago Reader.
9. ^ Armstrong, Gene (June 10, 2004). "Primal Satisfaction – Califone's latest album has roots in a recurring dream of its leader". Music. Tucson Weekly.
10. ^ a b c Schacht, John (January 28, 2004). "Califone Heron King Blues Thrill Jockey". Sit & Spin. Creative Loafing.
11. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (January 23, 2004). "Califone takes wing on Rutili's visionary writing". Live. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 5.
12. ^ "Free and instinctual – Califone traffics in surprises". Music. Nuvo. Indianapolis. May 19, 2004.
13. ^ Meyer, Bill (January 23, 2004). "Fast Tracks". Chicago Tribune. p. 26.
14. ^ Fojtik, Jon (March 3, 2004). "New and Reissued Vinyl". Music. East Bay Express.
15. ^ a b Zivitz, Jordan (May 6, 2004). "New music: Newly released compact discs". The Gazette. p. D2.
16. ^ Bryk, Jeff. "Califone". Trouser Press. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
17. ^ Klein, Joshua (October 20, 2006). "Califone's music takes a supersonic spin". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.20.
18. ^ "Heron King Blues Review by Sean Westergaard". AllMusic. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
19. ^ a b Miller, Phil (January 31, 2004). "CDs". The Herald. p. 2.
20. ^ Petrusich, Amanda (January 13, 2004). "Heron King Blues Califone". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
21. ^ "Breakdown". Spin. Vol. 20, no. 2\. February 2004. p. 104.
22. ^ Pareles, Jon (January 11, 2004). "Mali, in Fact, Is Far from Mississippi". The New York Times. p. 2.30.
23. ^ "Our Critics' Choices". Arts & Entertainment. Chicago Tribune. January 18, 2004. p. 14.
24. ^ Kot, Greg (December 10, 2004). "The year in indies". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 4.
25. ^ Edwards, Mark (February 1, 2004). "Califone". Culture. The Times. p. 28.
26. ^ Empire, Kitty (February 1, 2004). "Pop". Review Pages. The Observer. p. 13.
27. ^ Wagner, Vit (February 12, 2004). "Pop & Rock". Toronto Star. p. K13.
28. ^ Khedoori, Andrew (April 8, 2004). "Music". Metro. The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 23.

*[No.]: Number