Califone

Artist: Califone
Genre: Rock
Release Date: 01/20/2004
Label: Thrill Jockey
Catalog Number: 135
Recording: Studio
Length: 49:21
Format: CD (1 Used)

Credits

Fred Lonberg-Holm: Cello
Califone: Producer
Tim Rutili: Guitar, Keyboards, Piano, Vocals, Steel Drums, Slide Bass, Casio Synthesizer
Ben Massarella: Drums, Percussion, Drum Machine, Hand Drums
Graeme Gibson: Engineer
Mike Hinds: Layout Design
Sheila Sachs: Pre-Press Layout
Jim Becker: Guitar, Violin, Banjo, Fretless Banjo, Loops, Organ, Piano, Plucked Violin, Treated Piano

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Artist Releases

Heron King Blues (CD)
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Heron King Blues (LP)
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Roomsound (LP)
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Sometimes Good Weather Follows Bad People (LP)
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Roots & Crowns [Limited Edition] (LP)
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Heron King Blues (CD)

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(1 Used)

1 Used

Condition	Format	Price
Media Condition: Very Good CD Comments: Review Originally intended as an EP to tour behind, Heron King Blues eventually blossomed into the third full-length for these boundary-pushing folk and blues experimentalists. Inspired by a dream leader Tim Rutili had (and later named after a historically similar creature from Robert Graves’ Claudius The God), Califone captures their improvisational live sound in-studio with these seven tracks: wistful, acoustic-based drones and funkier riff-based vamps highlighted by the band’s electronic alchemy. Some songs were created from scratch in the studio, put directly to tape and recorded with as few overdubs as possible, including the title-track, a nearly 15-minute, single-take, two-chord blues- and funk-heavy improvisation based in part on Captain Beefheart’s 1970 record, Mirror Man. “Trick Bird” opens with guitar squiggles and layers of tribal beats from the band’s two percussionists (Joe Adamik and Ben Massarella), synth noise and organ washes eventually fleshing out the melody while Rutili takes a falsetto turn at the microphone; “Apple” has a dub feel, all thick percussion and a meandering melody line; and “2 Sisters Drunk on Each Other” features a near-drum’n’bass attack atop which the band lays down a fat funk groove. The other three tracks base their experiments in more traditional sounds -- Jim Becker’s banjo, for example, provides the groundwork for the clattering crescendo of “Sawtooth Sung a Cheater’s Song.” These songs harken back to the country-blues feel of the band’s first two full-lengths (2001’s Roomsound and 2003’s Quicksand/Cradlesnakes), especially the sparse, transcendent opener, “Wingbone,” highlighted by Rutili’s open-tuned acoustic slide and bass-note drones. While Heron King Blues concentrates on only some of the band’s wide-ranging experiments, the dexterity within these styles and imaginative explorations are in tune with the band’s ever-evolving sound. -John Schacht		Buy $5.99

Track Listing

Disc 1 Titles	Artist	Length
1. Wingbone	Califone	03:45
2. Trick Bird	Califone	05:56
3. Sawtooth Sung a Cheater's Song	Califone	07:43
4. Apple	Califone	05:10
5. Lion and Bee	Califone	03:33
6. 2 Sisters Drunk on Each Other	Califone	04:56
7. Heron King Blues	Califone	14:55
8. Outro	Califone	03:23

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Credits

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Artist Releases

Label Releases

Heron King Blues (CD)

Califone

1 Used

Track Listing

User Reviews

Artist Releases

Label Releases

1 Used

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