ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO
''BOURBONITIS BLUES''
MAY 14 1999
38:12
1/I Was Drunk
Alejandro Escovedo/4:53
2/Irene Wilde
Ian Hunter/2:51
3/California Blues
Jimmie Rodgers/3:20
4/Guilty
Alejandro Escovedo/4:54
5/Amsterdam
John Cale/3:43
6/Everybody Loves Me
Alejandro Escovedo/3:25
7/Pale Blue Eyes
Lou Reed/6:15
8/Sacramento & Polk
Alejandro Escovedo/4:43
9/Sex Beat
Jeffrey Lee Pierce/4:08
Alejandro Escovedo /Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Vocals
Glenn Fukunaga /Bass
Joe Eddy Hines /Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Kelly Hogan /Vocals
Jon Langford /Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Bill McCullough /Pedal Steel
Hector Muñoz /Drums
David Perales /Violin, Vocals (Background)
Chris Phillips /Drums, Percussion
Tom V. Ray /Bass
Chris Stamey /Bass, Guitar, Harmonium
Brian Standefer /Cello
Melissa Swingle /Harmonica, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Mark Deming
After Alejandro Escovedo's relationship with Rykodisc came to a sudden halt following the release of an album by his glam punk side project Buick MacKane, he released two stopgap albums while writing the material for 2001's masterful A Man Under the Influence. More Miles Than Money: Live 1994-96 was a superb document of Escovedo's startlingly intimate live shows, but Bourbonitis Blues sounds like an odds-and-ends EP of covers, live tracks, and a few token new cuts that was somehow stretched to a 38-minute LP. The disc only features four original songs (one of which, "Guilty," is a remake of a tune from With These Hands), and while "I Was Drunk" is excellent, "Sacramento and Polk" and "Everybody Loves Me" suggest he was saving most of his A-list material for his next proper album. The rest of Bourbonitis Blues is filled up with covers, most of which are well worth hearing, especially his heart-rendering reading of Ian Hunter's "Irene Wilde," and a slow, ominous take on the Gun Club's "Sex Beat." But since Jon Langford happens to be singing lead on the take of "California Blues" featured here, it's not certain just what it's doing on an Alejandro Escovedo record. There isn't anything bad on Bourbonitis Blues, but there isn't a lot that's truly distinguished, either, and it's something of disappointment coming from one of the best singer/songwriters to emerge in the 1990s.
BIOGRAPHY
by John Bush
Alejandro Escovedo's family tree includes former Santana percussionist Pete Escovedo and Pete's daughter Sheila E (also Prince's former drummer and later a pop star). He began his music career with the Nuns, a mid-'70s punk band based in San Francisco. He co-founded the pioneering cowpunk band Rank and File in 1979, which moved to Austin, Texas in 1981 after a stint in New York City. The band released Sundown on Slash Records in 1982, but shortly after, Escovedo left to form the True Believers with brother Javier. The band recorded two albums for EMI and toured the country, often as an opening act for Los Lobos. However, EMI opted not to release the second album, which eventually led to the group's breakup. (It eventually surfaced as a bonus item when Rykodisc reissued the first set on CD in 1994.) Escovedo released a solo album in 1992 on Watermelon Records, Gravity, uniting his wide variety of styles; the album was produced by Stephen Bruton of Bonnie Raitt's band. Escovedo also began gigging periodically with the band Buick MacKane, which fused old-school punk with '70s glam rock; after Rykodisc released Escovedo's With These Hands in 1996, they followed it up with Buick MacKane's long-awaited album. After Escovedo parted ways with Rykodisc, he signed in 1998 with the Chicago-based alt-country label Bloodshot, which released the live album More Miles Than Money: Live 1994-1996 and the acclaimed studio set A Man Under the Influence. In April 2003, Escovedo collapsed following a show in Phoenix, AZ, after which it was subsequently revealed that he had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C in the late '90s but had not sought treatment. An outpouring of support from musicians led to a series of successful benefit concerts to help pay Escovedo's medical expenses and keep his music before the public, followed by a tribute album, Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, which was released in 2004. In 2006, Escovedo released Boxing Mirror and toured with the Alejandro Escovedo String Quintet to promote the album. His next album, Real Animal, was produced by Tony Visconti and released in June 2008. Escovedo re-teamed with Visconti for 2010's Street Songs of Love. Visconti also produced his follow-up, Big Station, which was released in the early summer of 2012.
''BOURBONITIS BLUES''
MAY 14 1999
38:12
1/I Was Drunk
Alejandro Escovedo/4:53
2/Irene Wilde
Ian Hunter/2:51
3/California Blues
Jimmie Rodgers/3:20
4/Guilty
Alejandro Escovedo/4:54
5/Amsterdam
John Cale/3:43
6/Everybody Loves Me
Alejandro Escovedo/3:25
7/Pale Blue Eyes
Lou Reed/6:15
8/Sacramento & Polk
Alejandro Escovedo/4:43
9/Sex Beat
Jeffrey Lee Pierce/4:08
Alejandro Escovedo /Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Vocals
Glenn Fukunaga /Bass
Joe Eddy Hines /Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Kelly Hogan /Vocals
Jon Langford /Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Bill McCullough /Pedal Steel
Hector Muñoz /Drums
David Perales /Violin, Vocals (Background)
Chris Phillips /Drums, Percussion
Tom V. Ray /Bass
Chris Stamey /Bass, Guitar, Harmonium
Brian Standefer /Cello
Melissa Swingle /Harmonica, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Mark Deming
After Alejandro Escovedo's relationship with Rykodisc came to a sudden halt following the release of an album by his glam punk side project Buick MacKane, he released two stopgap albums while writing the material for 2001's masterful A Man Under the Influence. More Miles Than Money: Live 1994-96 was a superb document of Escovedo's startlingly intimate live shows, but Bourbonitis Blues sounds like an odds-and-ends EP of covers, live tracks, and a few token new cuts that was somehow stretched to a 38-minute LP. The disc only features four original songs (one of which, "Guilty," is a remake of a tune from With These Hands), and while "I Was Drunk" is excellent, "Sacramento and Polk" and "Everybody Loves Me" suggest he was saving most of his A-list material for his next proper album. The rest of Bourbonitis Blues is filled up with covers, most of which are well worth hearing, especially his heart-rendering reading of Ian Hunter's "Irene Wilde," and a slow, ominous take on the Gun Club's "Sex Beat." But since Jon Langford happens to be singing lead on the take of "California Blues" featured here, it's not certain just what it's doing on an Alejandro Escovedo record. There isn't anything bad on Bourbonitis Blues, but there isn't a lot that's truly distinguished, either, and it's something of disappointment coming from one of the best singer/songwriters to emerge in the 1990s.
BIOGRAPHY
by John Bush
Alejandro Escovedo's family tree includes former Santana percussionist Pete Escovedo and Pete's daughter Sheila E (also Prince's former drummer and later a pop star). He began his music career with the Nuns, a mid-'70s punk band based in San Francisco. He co-founded the pioneering cowpunk band Rank and File in 1979, which moved to Austin, Texas in 1981 after a stint in New York City. The band released Sundown on Slash Records in 1982, but shortly after, Escovedo left to form the True Believers with brother Javier. The band recorded two albums for EMI and toured the country, often as an opening act for Los Lobos. However, EMI opted not to release the second album, which eventually led to the group's breakup. (It eventually surfaced as a bonus item when Rykodisc reissued the first set on CD in 1994.) Escovedo released a solo album in 1992 on Watermelon Records, Gravity, uniting his wide variety of styles; the album was produced by Stephen Bruton of Bonnie Raitt's band. Escovedo also began gigging periodically with the band Buick MacKane, which fused old-school punk with '70s glam rock; after Rykodisc released Escovedo's With These Hands in 1996, they followed it up with Buick MacKane's long-awaited album. After Escovedo parted ways with Rykodisc, he signed in 1998 with the Chicago-based alt-country label Bloodshot, which released the live album More Miles Than Money: Live 1994-1996 and the acclaimed studio set A Man Under the Influence. In April 2003, Escovedo collapsed following a show in Phoenix, AZ, after which it was subsequently revealed that he had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C in the late '90s but had not sought treatment. An outpouring of support from musicians led to a series of successful benefit concerts to help pay Escovedo's medical expenses and keep his music before the public, followed by a tribute album, Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, which was released in 2004. In 2006, Escovedo released Boxing Mirror and toured with the Alejandro Escovedo String Quintet to promote the album. His next album, Real Animal, was produced by Tony Visconti and released in June 2008. Escovedo re-teamed with Visconti for 2010's Street Songs of Love. Visconti also produced his follow-up, Big Station, which was released in the early summer of 2012.
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