Por Vida

This is a truly impressive "tribute" album. The list of contributing artists is spectacular. My own favourites would include those by Lucinda Williams, Jon Langford, Jon Dee Graham, Charlie Sexton and so on. Alejandro Escovedo is top drawer and well worth investigating

Great music at an attractive price delivered promptly

Two cd's of great songs recorded in different styles but retaining the essence of the originals. A treat for any music fan.

Most tribute albums are forgettable but every now and then one comes along which makes you question such generalities and, in some cases, even gives you different views of an artist and his or her music. This is one of those cases. Alejandro Escovedo had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C, and, to make the situation n times worse, he had no medical insurance. In order to help with the dollars his friends got together and organised tribute concerts. This double album grew out of that. Apparently a whole host of bodies wanted to get involved. You really do get the impression from the music contained here that everyone who contributed wanted to do their very best for Alejandro and his music. This may sound trite but you do have do listen to see what I mean.It's so long that it's all too easy to forget bits once you've gotten to the end so I tried to take some brief notes on each track as I listened right through in sequence. Rather crude but may help to give some idea of the content.Pyramid of Tears - LUCINDA WILLIAMS - Throbbing guitar - simple riff - two chords - "I can't tell her everything's alright" - intense, "I see you cry" - as good as one of hersSacramento & Polk - LENNY KAYE - fast, jumpy, duet between left & right headphone - guitar counterpoint - more guitar - percussion - echoesParadise - STEVE EARLE & RECKLESS KELLY - Loud, loud, "Did you get your invitation, there's gonna be a public hanging" - there's some melody - "Goin' home, goin' home, goin' home"Broken bottle - JON LANGFORD & SALLY TIMMS - Vaguely country and vaguely a duet, ramshackle and charming - minimal backing but then it's a minimal songWave - CALEXICO - Big sound then Joey Burns' voice just above a whisper as usual - there's a cello & a melodica & who knows what else - "Some go North, some go South" - best so far & better than the boys' more recent album stuffPissed off 2 a.m. - JENNIFER WARNES - "sha la la la" - love the original -cool late, late song and Jennifer doesn't do badlyShe doesn't live here anymore - JOHN CALE - is that thunder? - loud with sonorous , echoing voice - two chord guitar riff - eerie bridge "She doesn't live here any more"Castanets - LOS LONELY BOYS - nice little rocker - string fuzz guitarDon't need you - COWBOY JUNKIES - Almost country - "There's heaven and there's somewhere else" - lovely accordion on the title lineDear head on the wall - CHARLIE SEXTON - Perennial sideman performs well - interesting melody line - according to notes Charlie played everything on this!!!!Helpless - JON DEE GRAHAM - Good riffing rockerShe towers above - HOWE GELB - This being Howie it's nowt like the original - the man's still a star - "There's a cowboy in the kitchen" - and apparently it was +43 in Tucson - oh, and Polly Harvey on answering machineWedding Day - IAN MACLAGAN & THE BUMP BAND - sounds frightfully normal after the last one - Alejandro's (and Ian's) high and lonesome sound - soaring Hammond B3 - and at last we get a pedal steelRhapsody -TRES CHICAS - Hints of tex-mex - right up my street - "You carve my names on window-frames" - fabulous swirling bridge - never heard of these ladies but they're niceThe End - PETER CASE - "I've got some questions need answering" - riffing guitars again, and why not? - authentic chunk of feedback to closeRosalie - BOB NEUWIRTH - "There's an ocean between us love; it's an ocean of powder and dust" - absolutely fantastic - wandering voice (bit like Willie) - country song - acoustic guitar - echo harp (that's what the notes say, I thought it was an accordion!)Crooked Frame - THE SECTION QUARTET - yup, as it says on the tin, it's a string quartet - plenty of spirit there though - don't know the song but it's alright - good closer to disc 1One more time - IAN HUNTER - a straight two chord rocker - got the spirit of Alejandro in this one - love it- "Just one more time" - don't you love rock'n'roll - "Austin, Austin, Austin, Austin,....)Last to Know - THE JAYHAWKS - one goodie after another - didn't know the Jayhawks were still together - this could be even better than the original - that great band sound - and the voices soaring on top - Woooooooooooooow - it's the throbbing again - great washes of sound - as good as anything on "Hollywood Town Hall"Velvet Guitar - NICHOLAS TREMULIS ORCHESTRA - with a nice bit of latin - reminds me of something - absolutely great version - touch of Raul Malo in there? - Cuban percussionThe Ballad of the Sun & the Moon - PETE ESCOVEDO & SHEILA E. - some more latin - bit less exotic this time until you listen to the words - Carlos Santana comes in on the break - well it sounds like it anywayOne True Love - THE CHRIS STAMEY EXPERIENCE - conventional flowing rocker - it's OK but I was getting into the weirder stuffSometimes - SON VOLT- instantly recognisable Jay Farrar, both voice and guitar - just like good ole Uncle Tupelo - the song suits him - BIG guitar sound - even faint echoes of "Eight Miles High" or is the imagination running wild?Inside this dance - ROSIE FLORES - did you know that Aug 31 is officially Rosie Flores Day in Austin? - well you should have - and it's another latino one, a smoocher this time - reminds me of Tom Russell's "When Sinatra came to Juarez" - almost tipsy accordion - will I fall down if I have another drink? - Rosie will look after youEverybody loves me - CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE - wasn't Charlie one of the first White blues men (apart from Elvis, of course)? - this is straight up Texas rock blues - think Delbert McClinton - Charlie always could make that mouth harp moanWay it goes - M WARD WITH VIC CHESNUTT & HOWE GELB - kind of jug band sound - sounds like the guys might have imbibed a bit - they're enjoying it though - a random electic guitar enters just before the end - perhaps he was on another sessionThe rain won't help you when it's over - JAVIER ESCOVEDO - another big but tuneful rocker - the chord sequence reminds me a bit of Buddy's "Listen to me"By Eleven - CAITLIN CARY- "Leave the light on, he'll be home by eleven" - another great song - the lady plays a mean accordion - she was the lady in "Whiskeytown"I was drunk -THE MINUS 5 - the rocker's get more forceful - plenty of adrenalin hereGravity - THE DRAGONS - one of Alejandro's more well known numbers and this is the only number on this entire double set where the singer actually tries to sound like him - other than that, not bad at allThirteen Years - RUBEN RAMOS - he's the highly respected Tejano man - was also on Los Super Seven's Canto" album - unusual treatment of the song - very strong cello in the backingBreak this Time - ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO - and fantastic to hear the great man himself - reminds me of the riff in the Velvet Underground's "Waiting for the Man" - I don't care if he pinched it - just good to hear it again - oh yeah, he's got a cello in there as wellThere's a whole world of music here. Many of the big names of the alt country movement, if there was a movement, are present but there's far more rock here than country, and it`s very good rock. There are also some simply lovely latin tracks on the second side, plus the odd quiet number which actually gains from the contrast.It's the sort of album I'd like to (embarrassingly) thrust on people. I believe that anyone with any interest in roots rock music regardless of whether you've even heard of Escovedo, would like, no let's say love, quite a lot of the music contained. Give it a go.

I purchased this CD on spec; a sticker on the cover indicated that MOJO had given it a rave review; even than I hestitated because it a compilation of various artists.It has been a worthwhile investment and I would not hesitate to recommend this double CD to anyone who enjoys alt-country. The only problem is that there are over 30 tracks and it seems to go on for ever!