Product Description
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West of the West is Dave Alvin's tribute to the songs and
songwriters of California. It's the fourth-generation
Californian's latest excursion into the sounds and history of his
home state, continuing the high standard he set with King of
California and Blackjack David. Produced by Greg Leisz (Wilco,
Lucinda Williams, Beck, Brian Wilson), the new album mixes much
loved songs by Merle Haggard, John Fogerty, Tom Waits, Brian
Wilson, Jackson Browne, Jerry Garcia, Kate Wolf, Robert Hunter
and Los Lobos' David Hidalgo and Louis Perez, with unearthed gems
from such previously overlooked talents as Blackie Farrell and
Jim Ringer.Dave's first collection of cover songs (2000's Public
Domain) won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album and his most
recent album of originals (2004's Ashgrove) garnered praise from
USA Today, Rolling Stone, Mojo and the Los Angeles Times who
said, "Few songwriters capture the way music can provide escape
or solace to the lonely, the lost and the desperate as Alvin."
Digipak.Click the player below to stream the entire album now.
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One of the finest composers of rootsy Americana since his years
with the Blasters, Dave Alvin here celebrates the quintessential
songs (and songwriters) of his native California. Some of his
choices--Merle Haggard, John Fogerty, and Alvin's occasional
collaborator Tom Russell--are artists who have obviously
influenced his own writing, but he extends the selection to
include some surprise choices, such as Jackson Browne, the
Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, and the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.
As revelatory as the songs he selects is what Alvin does with
them, turning Browne's "Redneck Friend" into a shuffle worthy of
Big Joe Turner and giving an equally bluesy twist to Fogerty's
"Don't Look Now," while removing the blues that had characterized
Los Lobos' original version of "Down on the Riverbed" in favor of
a banjo-driven folk arrangement. The opening rendition of John
Stewart's "California Bloodlines" establishes the album's theme;
the closing "Surfer Girl" is a stunner, Alvin's most tender vocal
to date, giving the Beach Boys ballad a warmth that borders on
reverence. Whatever Alvin may lack in vocal range, there's no
doubting his interpretive range. --Don McLeese
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Review
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"..with a unique ability to peer into both past and
present...his deep-throated croon provides a rustic,
whisky-soaked imprint that imparts a clear sense of passion and
purpose." -- Lee Zimmerman, Amplifier
"Closing with a sweetly delicate rendition of the first song
Wilson ever wrote, `Surfer Girl,' Alvin not only works in a nod
to the California coastline and the surf music it inspired, he
uses it to put a wistful, burnished glow on his loving yet
clear-eyed paean to the Golden State." -- Randy Lewis, LA Times
The ex-Blaster isn't so much a mere mainstay of the LA root-rock
scene as its principal justification." Ron Garmon, Los Angeles
City Beat -- Ron Garmon, Los Angeles City Beat
The songs on West of the West have already proven they can stand
up on their own; thanks to Alvin, they'll carry on much longer."
-- Kurt Wolff, No Depression
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