Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest

Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest is a studio album by American musician Bill Callahan, released on June 14, 2019, by Drag City. It is the sixth studio album released under his own name, and seventeenth overall when including LPs released as Smog.

Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest
Studio album by Bill Callahan
Released	June 14, 2019
Recorded	August 2018–January 2019[1]
Studio	Wonder Chamber, Austin, Texas
Length	63:35
Label	Drag City
Bill Callahan chronology
Have Fun with God (2014) Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest (2019) Gold Record (2020)

Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest is a double album^[2] with twenty tracks and over sixty-three minutes in length, making it Callahan's longest album to date.^[3] The album received favorable reviews, with Pitchfork contributing editor Jayson Greene referring to it as a "highlight of his career".^[4]

Release and promotion

The album was announced on May 2, 2019.^[5] The first three sides of the album were released digitally weeks apart before the album's release. The first side was released on May 23, 2019,^[6] the second side on May 30, 2019,^[7] and the third on June 6, 2019.^[8]

The album was premiered for early streaming through NPR's First Listen series starting on June 6, 2019.^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.2/10[10]
Metacritic	88/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Exclaim!	9/10[13]
The Guardian	[14]
The Irish Times	[15]
Mojo	[16]
NME	[17]
The Observer	[18]
Pitchfork	8.5/10[4]
Q	[19]
Uncut	9/10[20]

Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest received positive reviews from critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 88, based on 22 reviews.^[11]

Laura Snapes of The Guardian praised the album as a "brilliantly sly celebration of family and the infinite".^[14] In his review for Pitchfork, Jayson Greene called the album "his warmest, his most generous, possibly his most profound. It is his longest, for sure, lounging comfortably across four sides of vinyl, none of it wasted. It is a high note, fond and deep and sustained."^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Shepherd's Welcome"		2:22
2.	"Black Dog on the Beach"		2:30
3.	"Angela"		2:47
4.	"The Ballad of the Hulk"		4:04
5.	"Writing"		3:06
6.	"Morning Is My Godmother"		2:10
7.	"747"		3:26
8.	"Watch Me Get Married"		3:10
9.	"Young Icarus"		2:48
10.	"Released"		2:22
11.	"What Comes After Certainty"		3:42
12.	"Confederate Jasmine"		3:40
13.	"Call Me Anything"		2:26
14.	"Son of the Sea"		4:13
15.	"Camels"		2:59
16.	"Circles"		2:28
17.	"When We Let Go"		2:17
18.	"Lonesome Valley"	Traditional	4:16
19.	"Tugboats and Tumbleweeds"		4:12
20.	"The Beast"		4:37
Total length:			63:35

All tracks are written by Bill Callahan, except where noted

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[1]

Musicians Bill Callahan – vocals, acoustic guitar, Moog synthesizer, percussion, bowed psaltery, bowed banjo, harmonica, Wurlitzer electric piano, Casio SK-1, drum machine, mellotron, piano, kalimba, organ, bells Brian Beattie – upright bass, acoustic bass, electric upright bass (4), percussion, piano, pump organ, Hammond organ, Moog synthesizer, mellotron, celesta, marimbula, bells Matt Kinsey – acoustic guitar, percussion Adam Jones – drumkit Dony Wynn – drumkit (3, 7, 14) Gary Newcomb – lap steel guitar Hanly Banks Callahan – backing vocals (18) Tori Olds – backing vocals (6, 18)

Technical Brian Beattie – recording, mixing JJ Golden – mastering Packaging Joanna Skumanich – front and back cover drawings Dan Osborn – layout

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21]	21
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22]	99
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23]	58
French Albums (SNEP)[24]	168
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25]	56
Irish Albums (IRMA)[26]	81
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27]	17
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28]	51
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29]	56
UK Albums (OCC)[30]	37
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[31]	3
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[32]	11
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[33]	5

References

1. Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest (Media notes). Bill Callahan. Chicago: Drag City. 2019. dc747.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
2. Slingerland, Calum (May 2, 2019). "Bill Callahan Announces Double Album 'Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest'". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
3. Sever, Kirk (June 18, 2019). "Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest". No Ripcord. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
4. Greene, Jayson (June 13, 2019). "Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
5. Minsker, Evan (May 2, 2019). "Bill Callahan Announces New Album Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
6. Breihan, Tom (May 23, 2019). "Bill Callahan Shares The First Six Songs From His New Album 'Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest': Stream". Stereogum. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
7. Gray, Julia (May 30, 2019). "Stream 5 More Songs From Bill Callahan's 'Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest'". Stereogum. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
8. Helman, Peter (June 6, 2019). "Bill Callahan Shares Third Batch Of Songs From New Album". Stereogum. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
9. Chinen, Nate (June 6, 2019). "Bill Callahan's 'Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest' Meditates On Home And Love". NPR. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
10. "Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest by Bill Callahan reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
11. "Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest by Bill Callahan Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
12. Phares, Heather. "Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest – Bill Callahan". AllMusic. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
13. Khanna, Vish (June 17, 2019). "Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
14. Snapes, Laura (June 14, 2019). "Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest review – brilliantly sly celebration of family and the infinite". The Guardian. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
15. Kane, Siobhan (June 14, 2019). "Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest review – Between the earthy and the heavenly". The Irish Times. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
16. Mulvey, John (July 2019). "Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest". Mojo. No. 308. p. 88.
17. Clarke, Patrick (June 13, 2019). "Bill Callahan – 'Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest' review". NME. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
18. Empire, Kitty (June 16, 2019). "Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest review – a sweet and sly return". The Observer. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
19. Cameron, Keith (Summer 2019). "Ode to Joy". Q. No. 400. p. 117.
20. Wirth, Jim (July 2019). "Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest". Uncut. No. 266. p. 18.
21. "Ultratop.be – Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
22. "Ultratop.be – Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
24. "Lescharts.com – Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
25. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
26. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Bill Callahan". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
27. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
28. "Spanishcharts.com – Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
29. "Swisscharts.com – Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
31. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
32. "Bill Callahan Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
33. "Bill Callahan Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 25, 2020.