1 post tagged “alejandroescovedo”

All five of my regular readers know I'm a huge fan of Alejandro Escovedo. My introduction to him came in late 1996. I wanted to do an article on the year's most overlooked albums. I started asking publicists, musicians, and managers what they thought the year's most overlooked album was. Mark Downey, who was managing Martin Zellar (among others) at the time, pointed e to Alejandro's With these Hands. (The cover to the left is the reissue and is different from the 1996 cover.) It was Alejandro's first and last album for Ryko. I think there was hope that it would be a major commercial success, but I don't think the label had the muscle to move it. And besides, Alejandro isn't pop star material, and that's a compliment.

I now own his entire catalog, including the albums that led to this one, so I have some perspective on it. It's my favorite of his studio album. The arrangements are stunning, and T.S. Brunton's production captures the sort of atmospheric sounds that Daniel Lanois, The Velvet Underground, and Peter Gabriel have used so well, without losing Alejandro's rough rock 'n' roll edge. It's a stunning album.

"Put You Down" has been playing in my head for a couple of weeks now. It's rougher live, but I love the texture of this version. "Tugboat" is another favorite of mine, and an oddity in the Escovedo catalog. The Velvet Underground were a huge influence on Alejandro, and it's obvious here. When i last interviewed Alejandro, he mentioned that he's never played this song live. That was about four year ago, but I don't think he's added it to his set, though he slips a few of the lyrics into suite of songs. Unintentionally, I'm giving you bookends here — the first and last songs.