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Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men Out In California |
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Track List 1. Out In
California |
(Hightone) Dave Alvin's having a busy year.
This past spring he released this live album, Out In California, with
The Guilty Men, and toured behind it. He reunited with his original band
The Blasters, which includes his brother Phil. They recorded a live
album Trouble Bound, which was released in October, and they
are currently touring behind it.
Since leaving The Blasters in 1985, Dave has
managed to carve out a very successful career, culminating with a Grammy
win in 2000 for his solo effort, Public Domain. However, Dave
prefers perfoming live to studio work. He explains, "There are things
that happen when we play live- intense musical things that are just
about impossible to capture in the studio for whatever reason."
On Out In California, Dave is
joined by Guilty Men: Bobby Lloyd Hicks on drums and harmony vocals,
Gregory Boaz on bass, Joe Terry on keyboards and harmony vocals, Chris
Gaffney on accordian and harmony vocals, Rick Shea on electric and lap
steel guitars, mandolin and harmony vocals, Brantley Kearns on fiddle
and harmony vocals, John "Luke" Logan on harmonica, and Greg Leisz on
dobro and electric guitar. Dave is on lead vocals, natch, and kicks in
electric, acoustic and National steel guitar.
This live disc is full of passionate, raw
energy that touches all the bases of Dave's career. Included
are Blasters classics, "Little Honey," and "American Music," which gets
a most assuredly worthy, full 7 minutes of scorching, blistering,
attention. His X days are covered with "Fourth of July." The rest are
culled from his solo work, starting with 1991's Blue Boulevard., and
he includes renditions of the stellar Civil War tale "Andersonville,"
it's title track, the poignant ode to his cousin Donna "Blue Boulevard,"
the driving, honky tonk rocker "Wanda & Duane," and the lament of
fleeting fame, "Haley's Comet." He moves through the very outstanding,
soaring "Albilene" off of Blackjack David, and a 7 minute
verson of the swampy blues, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down," off his
Grammy winning Public Domain.
Dave rounds out the set with Bo Diddley's
"Who Do You Love," which gives the band some well deserved time in the
spotlight, and they make the most of it. He serves up an obscure blues
chestnut, the slightly racy "All 'Round Man," where Dave shows off his
skills on the National Steel. Dave proves his point hilariously, that
anything can happen playing live, in the untitled disc closer. Someone
in the audience calls out "Freebird," and Dave asks "You don't think we
know it? You think we can't play it?" He takes it as a challenge, and
they break into a couple of verses. Don't even ask what happens when
another joker yells out "Stairway To Heaven." Stuff like this can only
happen live folks.
Out In California is 100% American
Music at it's best...a little bit country, rock & roll, and blues. And
this is Dave Alvin at his best...where he's most at home- in front of
a live audience.
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AnnMarie
Harrington
Take Country Back November 2002