Callahan, Bill: Apocalypse LP

Essentially an ensemble recorded live in the studio, Bill Callahan’s Apocalypse is the corpus delecti. If tape is like meat, this record is the whole hog, no cuts, delectables and guts intact! In the opening salvo “Drover,” the cattle are herded. Callahan, riding on the back of his band, corrals them all and guides them single-handedly through the Valley with love and ferocity.

“Drover” is the universal gathering, but “Baby’s Breath” is one man’s plot of land. The focus then turns outward with “America!” which is like reading a love letter over someone else’s shoulder. Rounding out the first side is “Universal Applicant,” which finds Callahan looking deep within. Side two begins with “Riding for the Feeling,” is followed by the aptly titled “Free’s” and is wrapped up with “One Fine Morning.”