REVIEW: Alejandro Escovedo, Bourbonitis Blues (Bloodshot)
- Tracey Bleile
One of the cornerstones of the Austin music scene, Alejandro Escovedo is a tireless journeyman, plying his craft in a new joint every night; a flock of willing accomplices and rabid fans attending him every where he goes. As such, his strength is his live shows, which veer between quiet but emotional acoustic and loud, stripped-down blues rock, with that touch of Texas. Bourbonitis gives a crash course in these strengths, and whether it's live in Chicago, or in the studio in Chapel Hill or Austin, the disc carries the great vibe that you would feel sitting three feet from his face, and what the musicians in the studio with him must feel every time they record with him.
Spare of flesh but big in heart, both the songs and the man trace a compelling history with Bourbonitis, which is comprised of some originals (including two new songs) and several covers of wide-ranging influences. Escovedo has reportedly never recorded most of these songs before (with the exception of "Guilty") but has played them for years in his endless touring. Capturing the feel was easy using the great soundboard technique used on last year's live compilation More Miles Than Money. Two of the quieter moments feature great female backing vocals: Kelly Hogan does the honors in an elegant cover of Lou Reed's "Pale Blue Eyes" and Melissa Swingle (Trailer Bride) provides a mournful counterpart in a slowburn take on Gun Club's "Sex Beat".
All of Alejandro's incarnations are fully present: raucous Buick MacKane revisited in "Everybody Loves Me", honky-tonk bluesman with a newly reworked version of "Guilty", and the go to blazes rocker of "Sacramento & Polk". But the great warmth he projects as the storyteller, playing off of the accompanying strings of acoustic guitar, violin and cello, taking John Cale's "Amsterdam" and Ian Hunter's "Irene Wilde" he spins giant soft webs of the memories of women loved and women lost as well as their originators intended.
The one giant failing of this album: way too short. This needs about three more songs to satisfy the Alejandro satisfaction quota, because in his case, the songs are honed enough that it's going to be quality in addition to quantity, and not just filling up space. He can't be short on material, so I'm going to chalk it up to the new addition to his family and that crazy tour schedule, but the better to leave you hanging on for more, I guess. At any rate, a tip of the cap to Bloodshot - how often does an artist who has never fit a neat genre, and as such, has struggled from label to label on it credit his current label for "making music fun again"? Not very, I imagine. And to see two albums in as many years is testament enough that some people are in this business for all the right reasons.
For more info on the label and the artist: see http://www.bloodshotrecords.com and http://www.alejandroescovedo.com .
