| | Smog Accumulation: None CD Smog Discography of CDs
 (1 Customer Review)
Everything old is new again on this singles compilation, containing a dozen hard to find tracks from the band's first decade, none previously available on CD. Ten of the twelve songs have appeared on 7 inches, and six have never been released domestically. Two tracks were broadcast on radio and released as b-sides. Includes the hit single, 'A Hit' and 'White Ribbon' recorded for this collection. Drag City. 2002.
Besides Pavement, (Smog) is one of the indie rock acts most overdue for a B-sides collection -- it seems that Bill Callahan always saves at least one or two of his best songs for his singles and EPs, some of which are surprisingly hard to find even for die-hard fans. In theory, at least, the B-sides comp Accumulation: None should appease collectors and completists who missed out on some of (Smog)'s rarer tracks, particularly the ones that were only released on import 7"s. In reality, though, the collection is slightly disappointing, mostly because it includes only a dozen tracks. Granted, some of these tracks are among the hardest to find and most sought-after in Callahan's body of work, such as "Astronaut," which comes from the My Shell 7"; "Floating" and "Hole in the Heart" from the Floating EP; and "Real Live Dress," which is from the Australian tour-only Manta Rays of Time EP. However, collecting just 12 of these rarities just whets the appetite for more: "A Hit," which is one of (Smog)'s best and catchiest singles from the Wild Love era, is a welcome inclusion, but its B-side, the Callahan/Cynthia Dall duet "Wine-Stained Lips," is sorely missed. Likewise, several other tracks from Manta Rays of Time, like the cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back," would also be perfect on this collection. Likewise, the Peel sessions versions of "I Break Horses" and "Chosen One" are great but just leave the listener wanting more. And though it's understandable that tracks from Burning Kingdom, 'Neath the Puke Tree, and Kicking a Couple Around wouldn't be represented here since each of those EPs is still relatively easy to find, singles such as the excellent Look Now are nowhere to be found on Accumulation: None. Nitpicking aside, however, this collection does feature some of Callahan's best B-sides, including "Little Girl Shoes" from the Ex-Con EP, as well as "Spanish Moss" and "Came Blue" from the Hausmusik 7". The inclusion of a new track, the accomplished "White Ribbon," bodes well for (Smog)'s 2003 album and, as with the entire collection, leaves the listener wanting to hear more. Though a sense of longing is always expressed in Callahan's music, a collection of his work shouldn't leave his fans longing for more as much as Accumulation: None does. Considering Drag City's efforts to reissue (Smog)'s earliest recordings, such as the Cow tracks that were added to the Strayed EP, here's to hoping that they make more of his later but still obscure work easier for fans to enjoy. ~ Heather Phares
Personnel: Bill Callahan (vocals); Andy Hopkins (guitar); Jim O'Rourke (piano); Rian Murphy (drums).
Uncut (12/02, p.129) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Future generations may come to rank Callahan as the unflinching, poetic equal of Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen..."
Mojo (Publisher) (12/02, p.132) - "...Compelling....A mosaic of sinister greatness..." Accumulation: None Music Review Average Rating: (4 out of 5 stars)  Rainy rooftop music
By Gavin Corbett, Dublin, Ireland:
Smog fans have been spoiled these last three of years in having a new Bill Callahan record released annually since 1999's Knock Knock – together with a clutch of EPs – so it initially came as something of a disappointment to this Smog aficionado to hear that his 2002 release was going to be a compilation album.
A wonderful surprise then to find that most of the stuff on 'Accumulation:None' was material I had not already heard, and that some of the songs I thought I already owned were in fact new versions.
The BBC Peel session versions of 'Chosen One' and 'I Break Horses' in particular are stunning rejigs, improving, if that's possible, on the original works. Simple, pretty piano motifs caulk up the gaps in these songs, imbuing them with new emotional timbres without making them feel overwrought.
Of the stuff new to these ears, 'Spanish Moss' (fantastic lyrics) and 'Came Blue' were the stand-outs, warm, perfectly-formed beauties, throwbacks to the days when Bill sang sweet and high, and sad counterpoises to the disappointing new song 'White Ribbon', a possibly worrying further marker that Bill has settled on that enervated, emotionally-flat, vocal style first given a run-out on 'Rein on Lens' and the 'Neath the Puke Tree' EP. (Come on Bill - back to the glory days of 'Apples' or 'Dongs' for the next album, please!).
It was also great to hear maybe my favourite Smog track of all time, 'Little Girl Shoes', on an album at last. The acoustic version of 'Cold Blooded Old Times', probably Bill's only ever attempt at (near) conventional rock song structure - and all the better for it - is also present and correct in all its rudimentary glory.
Not an obvious avenue of ingress for someone new to Smog then, but a must-buy for die-hards and completists to listen to while sipping tea and staring out of windows at rain and cranes and billowy smoke.
Submitted by nivag11 (Dublin, Ireland)
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