Customer Reviews

Chris Gaffney Tribute: The Man of Somebody's Dreams

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Chris Gaffney, who passed away from liver cancer in 2008, was a consummate musical insider. Though he recorded six solo albums, and co-led the Hacienda Brothers with Dave Gonzalez, his reputation remained strongest with among his fellow musicians and songwriters. His contributions as a member of Dave Alvin's Guilty Men were sufficiently important to lead Alvin to temporarily derail the latter's performances upon the former's passing. Gaffney's synthesis of country, roots rock, Memphis soul and norteño powered not only his own work, but all those with whom he played or who played his songs. His songwriting, singing and accordion took on varying shades as he stood out front, shared the spotlight with Gonzalez, or provided support for Alvin, but he wasn't a chameleon, he was a straw that stirred the drink.

When Alvin temporarily sidelined the Guilty Men, he spent some time producing this rich, eighteen track tribute to the songs and spirit of his compadre. Many of Gaffney's Southern California cohorts are here, including Los Lobos, John Doe, Dave Gonzalez and Big Sandy. Also included are leading lights of Americana singer-songwriting, including Joe Ely, Peter Case, Jim Lauderdale, Tom Russell, James McMurtry and Robbie Fulks. More surprising are appearances by Boz Skaggs and a Freddy Fender track borrowed from the Texas Tornados' 1996 release 4 Aces. Skaggs might seem like the odd man out in this company, but his smooth `70s soul sound is an excellent match for Gaffney's Stax-flavored "Midnight Dream."

Everyone here fits their chosen (or given) song to a tee. Gaffney's accordion is echoed in Flaco Jimenez's playing on "The Gardens" and norteño horns are heard in Calexico's cover of "Frank's Tavern." Los Lobos brings a sad romanticism to the album's waltzing title track and Alejandro Escovedo brings sad memories to "1968." Jim Lauderdale, Robbie Fulks and John Doe each pour out a glass full of country tears, and Peter Case gives "Six Nights a Week" a roadhouse run-through. Alvin and Gonzalez sing their tracks as if they're love songs to their departed friend, neither seeming ready to let go, and Dan Penn sings as a proud father who's outlived his musical progeny.

Gaffney's musical influences form a collage that's mirrored by the collection of friends and admirers who've gathered to celebrate his life. The number of A-list songwriters who stopped by to sing a favorite from Gaffney's catalog is a mark of how deeply his songs touch those who understand the nuts and bolts of songwriting craft. That the songs are so perfectly interpretable by others shows that their adoration is well deserved. The album closes with a previously unreleased Gaffney performance of "Guitars of My Dead Friends." Leave it to a master to write the perfect capstone to his own tribute. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

I'm a huge Chris Gaffney and Hacienda Brothers fan, but I'm generally skeptical when it comes to tributes. Most of them have 2 or 3 good performances, and a lot of mediocre offerings, not to mention the fact that they tend to lack coherence (understandable when you ask 15 different artists to contribute). Initially, I thought this was the case with "The Man of Somebody's Dreams," but after listening to it more attentively, I realize this album achieves something quite unique in the way it manages to conjure up the spirit of Chris Gaffney. Simply put, there are some very powerful performances here that are bound to strike a deep chord with fans of Gaffney. 2 of my favorites are David Hidalgo and Los Lobos doing "The Man of Somebody's Dreams" and Gaff's fellow Hacienda Bro' Dave Gonzalez singing "Tired of Being Me." There are several other great performances I won't mention here.

Dave Alvin's done a masterful job as usual, and if you don't have Gaffney's Alvin-produced "Loser's Paradise," get it as soon as you can--it's my favorite pre-Hacienda Brothers recording of Gaffney and one of the most underrated efforts in the Americana genre.

I purchased this CD after attending a Dave Alvin show. His story about Chris Gaffney was interesting and made me give it a shot. This is a very good CD the artists did great justice to the music. It has been on permanent rotation on the CD player for a month now.

If you loved the Hacienda Bros, you will love this CD. Excellent songs covered by Joe Ely, Los Lobos, Calexico, Dave Alvin, Alejandro Escovedo , etc.Bound to be in my top ten at years end.