Customer Reviews

Eleven Eleven

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's 2011, 11 tracks & 11th album for the legendary 'roots' rock pioneer Dave Alvin. This great CD 'Eleven Eleven' was written during his 2010 touring 'down time'. It's a well balanced rock album (mainly bluesy rock tracks, countryish track in "Manzanita" & jazzy in "Two Lucky Bums"). Dave Alvin has services of musicians from the Blasters including his brother Phil Alvin (duet for the first time on record in "What's Up With Your Brother") in this CD. His varied baritone-velvety voice is as enjoyable as ever. Stands-outs/gems/solid tracks include "Black Rose Of Texas" (an incredible slow track with magnificent guitar, melody & his enjoyable baritone voice somewhere between those of Greg Brown & Mark Knopfler), "No Worries Mija" (wonderful slow track, beautiful guitar finger pick-ups, accordion & melody), "Manzanita" (excellent countryish guitar sound, melody & vocals. A wonderful duet featuring Christy McWilson on vocals & piano) & "Two Lucky Bums" (jazzy track with incredible harmonies, melody & accordion. A duet featuring Chris Gaffney on vocals & accordion). Great tracks include "Harlan County Line" (bluesy rock track featured in TV series FX in which Dave Alvin also had a cameo role), "Johnny Ace Is Dead", "Run Conejo Run" (mid-tempo track, 'some rapping' vocals, great guitar solo & melody), "What's Up With Your Brother" (bluesy rock track, great guitar/harmonica & duet with his brother Phil) & "Dirty Nightgown" (a rock track with great vocals & melody). Okay tracks are "Gary, Indiana 1952" & "Murrietta's Head". The purchase of this CD entitles you to Free bonus material not included on the album to download. On overall, Dave Alvin does not disappoint in his 11th CD release 'Eleven Eleven', a highly recommended CD listening.

I bought Eleven Eleven just before seeing Dave live in a small club in Northampton, MA. I knew it would be cheaper at Amazon, but I had to have it then. It's his best CD since King of California. But none of his recordings match his live performances and lately he's better than ever, with his strongest band yet. Rolling Stone just called him "one of the great unrecognized guitar heros". So true! Buy his music and go to his shows!!!

I just had the opportunity to see Dave and his band in Freehold NJ at a very intimate venue. He was great, the band was terrific and they played a combination of old and new songs. I bought Eleven Eleven days before the concert to become familiar with the songs and I was blown away. I have been a fan of Daves since the first Blasters LP. I have listened to his music since then, solo outings, original material, public domain covers, The Knitters, The Pleasure Barons, the "Guilty" cds, Sony Burgess, etc. I have to say that this is my favorite CD in many years. Even though I enjoyed the Guilty CD's I found them lacking something and I could never put my finger on it. Now hearing Eleven I know what I was missing, it was the bluesy, rootsy, pure sound. The duets, the additional instrumentation was not what I was looking for. I love the well produce but rawer sound of this CD, great guitars, excellent bass and strong drums coupled with Dave's voice and of course terrific songs make this a great CD my favorite since King of California. Johnny Ace is Dead is a Dave classic, Black Rose of Texas is heartbreaking and What's Up With Your Brother is fun. There is not a dud or filler on the whole CD. Highly recommended by a long time fan -- Bob

Dave Alvin cannot make a bad album.

Some are better than others, however they are all great.

Dave, thanks for another great one.

Fans who visit Dave's web site will be greeted with the message that says something like "Folk Music Can Be Played Loud or Soft, and I do Both". True to his words, Dave has made a career out of mixing hard, bluesy, Americana with poetic folk music. However, he has rarely made an album that mixes both styles. The last time he did it was in 2004 with "Ashgrove" which in my opinion is probably the most enjoyable (not necessarily best) album of his career. Eleven Eleven is essentially an older brother to that record. The same themes of history, nostalgia and lust run through it's veins and it's pumped with both a bluesy and a folksy beat. I could nitpick and attempt to quantify how this album or a particular song ranks in his rather impressive catalog, but why bother. Dave Alvin is an american music master and this album finds him at the top of his game. Meaning, if you like Dave, or you like Americana this is a no brainer.

I've been a fan of Dave Alvin since an old friend introduced me to his music some years ago. She later canned me as a friend, but my conversion was sincere so I have been eagerly following Alvin's career ever since. Eleven Eleven, his long awaited new album, had considerable hype to live up to, and live up to the hype it did.
Dave Alvin has developed as a great storyteller, and I like him best when he tells them with a large dose of rock and roll tempered by a searing dollop of the blues. If you like that side of his music, you are going to love songs like Harlan County Line, Johnny Ace is Dead, Gary Indiana 1959, Murrietta's Head, and Dirty Nightgown that are right up there with some of the best songs that he's ever written. Those fans who like Alvin's down tempo country ballads better are sure to love Black Rose of Texas and Manzanita. The bonus track that you can download is a keeper as well. I'll keep you in suspense except to say its a fine rocking duet.
While Eleven Eleven is not Dave Alvin's final hour, it is still well worth the long wait. It comes packaged in a handsome digipak and is accompanied by a useful flip-out booklet containing pictures and lyrics to all the songs except the bonus track. It's been getting a lot of play at my place and is almost sure to delight you as well.

You like Dave Alvin? Get this. This is what he does best. Story telling and excellent musicianship from the entire band. Top of his game. A perfect Dave Alvin CD. Tony Joe White and Dave Allen are both doing the best stuff they've ever done. Great year for quality music if you know where to look.

THANKS DAVE! Great entertainment and just a spectacular CD.

Dave Alvin does it again with a new and marvelous roots album that relies a bit more on the electric guitar sound of Dave's California youth. Alvin's themes of loss, love, relationships gone awry, truth at all costs, and the western experience resonate deeply in this California boys' soul. Living a real life and artistically reflecting on it is what separates Dave Alvin from the rest of today's current crop of singer-songwriters. This work offers sadness, bitterness, the rough hewn life that always seeks and sometimes obtains redemption.

Each of Dave's albums should have been a breakthrough and this fine work is no exception. If you enjoy good old rock 'n' roll, ballads of deep meaning, and contemporary man's issues through the lens of a great songwriter then, by all means, purchase Eleven Eleven.

With all the losses Dave has lived through the last couple of years it's great to see him use the emotion he must have felt and put it into his guitar and his songs. I can picture Dave's fingers bleeding from the guitar work on this CD. Great CD! (Hearing Dave and Phil together is always a treat!)

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