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Track Listings
| 1. El Picador |
| 2. Ballad Of Cable Nogue |
| 3. Ritual Road Map |
| 4. Fade |
| 5. Untitled III |
| 6. Sonic Wind |
| 7. Muleta |
| 8. Mid-Town |
| 9. Service And Repair |
| 10. Untitled II |
| 11. Drenched |
| 12. 16 Track Scratch |
| 13. Tres Avisos |
| 14. Hot Rail |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
John Convertino and Joey Burns spend a good portion of their time playing with their friend Howe Gelb in the once prolific Giant Sand. But as contractual obligations--or, perhaps, contractual constraints--forced the band to lay off from time to time, it gave the backing boys plenty of time to pursue their own interests as Calexico. Much like Giant Sand, Calexico play a loose game, as likely to pursue Tom Waitsesque instrumentals (lots of shiny metallic percussion everywhere) as an abstract, countrified songwriting muse. The addition of horns and violin for the opening instrumental, "El Picador," and the distorted Spanish guitar of "Muleta" suggest that they've spent time well below Calexico's border. Twangy guitar riffs abound, and when pressed into tunes they highlight the duo's capacity for understated songwriting ("Ballad of Cable Hogue," "Service and Repair") that not so surprisingly sounds much like Giant Sand themselves. --Rob O'Connor
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By B. Lane
Format:Audio CD
Calexico is like some half-breed love child of a mariachi band and Morphine. Like a band in a saloon from the good, the bad and the ugly they are both intoxicatingly exotic and mildly menacing.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Anonymous
Format:Audio CD
This CD rocks. It opens up with a sweeping, cinematic trumpet that dumps you in the Sonoran Desert where it's 110 degrees and you're thirsty as hell, wearing a long-sleeved shirt and about to go hit the nearest hacienda for some watermelon cooler and tequila. Yeah, it's that vivid. Hot Rail continually pokes and prods the boundaries of indie-rock/alt-country, pulling in a healthy dose of mexican balladry, old-time GitAlong country and even French rap/spoken word to create what could be the perfect soundtrack for a Steven Soderbergh movie yet to be made. Listen to this Cd and see what movie plays in YOUR head!
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By "abarcelo"
Format:Audio CD
More than just a side project of Gian Sand's (and Friends of Dean Martinez's) John Convertino and Joey Burns, Calexico is one of the most original bands to emerge of the American alternative scene in a long time. Mixing indie-rock sensibility with the traditional sounds of Southern USA and Mexico, Calexico's dark and moody sound incorporates mariachi (#1, 7), french chanson (#2), jazz (#3!), spaghetti western soundtrack music, post-rock (#14), American folk and old time western into an unique style perfectly fitting to their name. This album is not as multi-layered as their previous `Black Light'; more of your basic bass-drums-guitar, but still features vibes, organ, accordion, cello, harmonica and mariachi horns. They came to visit Bloomington a couple of years ago, and they rocked! In CD, they are even better, so play this over and over. Tracks 1, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 14 are instrumental.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
absolutely my fav calex alb
Drifter Southwest, Spanish horns, ephemera railroad days, daze. Dusty and trumpeting vocals, you'll think you're here, and then wonder how to get here.
Published 10 months ago by nb
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most overlooked band
I have had this for a while now but just bought some Calexico CDs for a friend.
Calexico are a blend of Johnny Cash at his best, Ennio Moriconne and Mariarchi that is... Read more
Calexico are a blend of Johnny Cash at his best, Ennio Moriconne and Mariarchi that is... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Alan Greening
5.0 out of 5 stars
Smart laid back psychodelic Cali-Mexican pop!
Several years ago, Gomez got me hooked on Southwest-tinged multi-instrument psychodelic blues pop rock, and yes, it captures and contains elements of all of those descriptions. Read more
Published on February 25, 2009 by K. Haynes
3.0 out of 5 stars
Calexico dabble in rather then fully explore their special sound
The alternative Tex-Mex band usually can be relied upon for providing a nice sunny, margarita-drenched soundtrack to any Sunday afternoon with their warm, Mariachi-inspired... Read more
Published on September 15, 2007 by IRate
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hot Rail- Calexico
As an avid fan of Calexico, this was the one missing album from my collection- the songs definitely grow on you and seems to take you to a different place. Read more
Published on August 19, 2006 by Paul Tisi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Border Breakers
Calexico was brought to my attention when their clip for "Crystal Frontier"passed, unexpectedly,on a spanish channel and since that I've hunted down the album with that amazing... Read more
Published on July 29, 2005 by Tezcatlipoca
2.0 out of 5 stars
El Mariachi
For those who like Ennio Morricone and western spaghettis, Calexico may be an interesting band worth checking out. Read more
Published on February 3, 2004 by gonn1000
4.0 out of 5 stars
Highly diverse and sonically pleasing.
While many reviewers will give comparisons of surf-music and Morricone influences, Burns and Convertino show greater depth and artistic push than was apparent when in Friends of... Read more
Published on June 2, 2003 by William Petersen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Listening
I have had this CD for over a year, my daughter sent it for Christmas. At first I did think it a little gimmicky. I have listened several times and have changed my opinion. Read more
Published on January 1, 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Are you serious?
Don't listen to "the music fan from Australia". To correct a few mistakes: Calexico is the name of a border town in southern California, not a twist on some geographical psyche. Read more
Published on February 19, 2002
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