A River Ain't Too Much to Love

A River Ain't Too Much to Love is the eleventh studio album by Smog, released on May 30, 2005, on Domino Records in Europe and on Drag City in North America. It is Bill Callahan's final studio album released under the Smog moniker. Callahan initially wanted to release the album under his own name, but decided against doing so after pressure from Drag City.^[3]

A River Ain't Too Much to Love
Studio album by Smog
Released	May 31, 2005 (2005-05-31)
Recorded	November 2004[1]
Studio	Pedernales Studio, Spicewood, Texas[1]
Genre	Indie folk alternative country lo-fi[2]
Length	50:47
Label	Drag City Domino
Producer	Bill Callahan
Smog chronology
Supper (2003) A River Ain't Too Much to Love (2005) Woke on a Whaleheart (2007)

A River Ain't Too Much to Love features guest appearances by Joanna Newsom and Thor Harris of Shearwater.^[4][1] Music videos were produced for both "Rock Bottom Riser" and "I Feel Like the Mother of the World", the latter featuring actress Chloë Sevigny.^[5][6] Both videos can be found on the "Rock Bottom Riser" CD single release.^[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	76/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Cokemachineglow	77/100[10]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[11]
Entertainment Weekly	A–[12]
The Guardian	[13]
Pitchfork Media	7.7/10[14]
PopMatters	8/10[15]
Q	[16]
Stylus Magazine	A[17]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bill Callahan, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Palimpsest"	2:52
2.	"Say Valley Maker"	5:10
3.	"The Well"	7:00
4.	"Rock Bottom Riser"	5:44
5.	"I Feel Like the Mother of the World"	3:09
6.	"In the Pines" (traditional)	5:12
7.	"Drinking at the Dam"	4:07
8.	"Running the Loping"	6:55
9.	"I'm New Here"	3:59
10.	"Let Me See the Colts"	6:39

Cover versions

Callahan's "I'm New Here" is covered on (and used as the album title of) Gil Scott-Heron's final album.^[18]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[1]

• Bill Callahan – vocals, guitars, various instruments, production
• Connie Lovatt – electric bass, vocals
• Jim White – drums
• Thor Harris – zills (on "Say Valley Maker"), hammer dulcimer and air drum (on "I Feel Like the Mother of the World")
• Joanna Newsom – piano (on "Rock Bottom Riser")
• Travis Weller – fiddle
• Steve Chadie – engineering
• Chris "Frenchie" Smith – mixing (on "I Feel Like the Mother of the World")
• Nick Webb – mastering (at Abbey Road)