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Avg: 4.0 (60 ratings)
- Date Released: June 15, 2004
- Genre: Country/Folk
- Style: Americana
- Label: Yep Roc Records / Redeye
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We Say...
If Ashgrove seems at first blush to be a somewhat schizophrenic alternation between bar-band blues-rock and melodic country-folk, rest assured that Dave Alvin is equally comfortable at either end of that spectrum — and all the terrain in between. After making a name for himself as a hotshot guitarist with rousing roots-rockers the Blasters in the early '80s (plus a brief stint with punk legends X), Alvin went solo and eventually established himself as a first-rate songwriter. He won a traditional folk Grammy for his 2000 release Public Domain, but he's equally versed in traditional blues, as the odd-numbered songs on Ashgrove attest. The title track delves deeply into the source of his inspiration: the Ash Grove, a Los Angeles nightclub where he saw blues legends such as Lightnin' Hopkins and Big Joe Turner perform in the late '60s. But the most moving moments here are the ballads — especially "Everett Ruess," the true-story retelling of an adventurous artist's mysterious disappearance in the Utah wilderness, and "The Man in the Bed," in which Alvin envisions his father's struggle with Parkinson's disease. "The nurse over there doesn't know. . . I could have broken her heart not that long ago," he sings, his voice lingering with longing for the life he feels slipping away.
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They Say...
Dave Alvin began examining the quieter side of his musical personality in earnest on his 1994 disc, King of California, and subsequent albums Blackjack David and Public Domain: Songs from the Wild Land followed in a similar path, leaving some fans to wonder when or if Alvin was ever going to crank up the amps in the recording studio again. Well, the news on Ashgrove, Alvin's first album for the Yep Roc label, is that Dave is rockin' again...though just a little bit. Ashgrove (named after the famed L.A. nightspot where Alvin saw legendary bluesmen play when the was a teenager) finds Alvin digging into the blues, and while Dave's blues don't kick like, say, Jon Spencer these days, this is still several steps closer to the sound and feel of his early solo work such as Romeo's Escape and Blue Blvd. The lean but potent blues undertow of "Ashgrove" and the smoky slow burn of "Black Sky" offer subtle but genuine muscle and punch, and the sinuous "Out of Control" and "Black Haired Girl" prove that Alvin's tougher side has not abandoned him. At the same time, Alvin hasn't abandoned the more contemplative side of his nature, either, and as a songwriter he's continued to mature. "Everett Ruess" and "The Man in the Bed" are two deeply moving but very different portraits of men pondering their lives near the end of their journeys through this world, and "Nine Volt Heart" is a witty but powerful testament to what music can mean in someone's life. Overall, the quieter material makes up the bulk of Ashgrove's playing time, but the handful of blues-based tunes on board give the set a texture that's cool and sharp, and the result resides in a satisfying middle ground that ought to please fans on both side of the electric guitar issue.
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| 01. |  |
Ashgrove |
6:15 |
|
| 02. | |
Rio Grande |
4:25 |
|
| 03. | |
Black Sky |
4:48 |
|
| 04. | |
Nine Volt Heart |
4:57 |
|
| 05. | |
Out Of Control |
6:34 |
|
| 06. | |
Everett Ruess |
4:51 |
|
| 07. | |
Sinful Daughter |
4:28 |
|
| 08. | |
The Man In The Bed |
4:35 |
|
| 09. | |
Black Haired Girl |
5:25 |
|
| 10. | |
Somewhere In Time |
5:54 |
|
10 Total Tracks, 52:12 Total Length
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Credits
- Chris Gaffney - Harmony Vocals // Chris Gaffney - Spiritual Advisor // Dave Alvin - Guitar (Acoustic) // Dave Alvin - Guitar (Acoustic) // Dave Alvin - Guitar (Electric) // Dave Alvin - Guitar (Electric) // Joe Gastwirt - Mastering // Bob Glaub - Bass (Electric) // Don Heffington - Percussion // Don Heffington - Drums // Greg Leisz - Guitar (Acoustic) // Greg Leisz - Guitar (Electric) // Greg Leisz - Guitar (Steel) // Greg Leisz - Harmony Vocals // Greg Leisz - Slide Guitar // Greg Leisz - Mixing // Mark Linett - Engineer // Mark Linett - Mixing // David Piltch - Bass (Acoustic) // Patrick Warren - Keyboards // Lou Beach - Design // Issa Sharp - Photography
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