Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo

Alejandro Escovedo | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 27, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Or. Music
• ASIN: B0002E5O9Q
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,438 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Lucinda Williams - Pyramid of Tears

2. Lenny Kaye - Sacramento & Polk

3. Steve Earle & Reckless Kelly - Paradise

4. Jon Langford and Sally Timms - Broken Bottle

5. Calexico - Wave

6. Jennifer Warnes - Pissed Off 2AM

7. John Cale - She Doesn't Live Here Anymore

8. Los Lonely Boys - Castanets

9. Cowboy Junkies - Don't Need You

10. Charlie Sexton - Dear Head On the Wall

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Ian Hunter - One More Time

2. Jayhawks - Last to Know

3. Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra - Velvet Guitar

4. Sheila E. and Pete Escovedo - The Ballad of the Sun and Moon

5. The Chris Stamey Experience - One True Love

6. Son Volt - Sometimes

7. Rosie Flores - Inside This Dance

8. Charlie Musselwhite - Everybody Loves Me

9. M. Ward with Vic Chesnutt & Howe Gelb - Way It Goes

10. Javier Escovedo - The Rain Won't Help

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Stricken with Hepatitis C in April 2003 and lacking health insurance, Alejandro Escovedo has been the focus of scores of benefit concerts in Austin, Texas, and across the U.S. These 32 songs offer further aid--and a dizzying, daring appraisal of a brilliant, if commercially hard-luck, songwriter. Opening with Lucinda Williams's slurred, Spartan electric groove, the set covers the obscure ("Sacramento & Polk," in a manic paranoid take by Lenny Kaye) and the exquisite (the road-weary ballad "Thirteen Years," in a stately, aching reading by Tejano legend Ruben Ramos). Those familiar with the restless style-shifting of Escovedo's career won't be surprised by the juxtaposition of Ian Hunter's bar-band strut with the Jayhawks' psychedelic wall of delay, or Peter Case's glam garage with Bob Neuwirth's unguarded, accordion-laced sigh. Surprises include a poignant vocal turn from keyboard legend Ian McLagan, a reunited and stunningly revived Son Volt, and Escovedo himself, charging through a new tempo-twisting rocker cut just before he fell ill. There is tangible enthusiasm, even love, in the performances of these wildly diverse admirers. --Roy Kasten

From the Artist

Alejandro Escovedo is one of the most critically acclaimed artists in contemporary music, hailed by Rolling Stone critic David Fricke for creating "his own genre" and named Artist of the Decade for the 1990s by No Depression magazine. Widely admired for the stylistic breadth and innovation of his compositions and his facility for translating his personal experiences and observations into universal truths, he fell ill from the effects of Hepatitis C in April 2003.

The music community responded to his health crisis and its financial repercussions with a stunning outpouring of generosity and concern that culminates in Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo. On the two disc set, 31 acts from across the musical spectrum – including Escovedo’s friends, family, peers, influences and admirers – offer their inspired interpretations of his material, packaged with liner notes by famed critic Dave Marsh. A portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit the Alejandro Escovedo Medical & Living Expense Fund as well as a developing effort to develop an ongoing assistance effort for musicians afflicted with Hepatitis C.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is good music, July 28, 2004

By 

Jon (College Station, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo (Audio CD)

With an All Star alt-country lineup featuring everybody from Los Lonely Boys, Lucinda Williams, Catlin Cary (Whiskeytown), the Jayhawks, and Calexico to Steve Earle, there is no way this CD could have been bad. Every song is great, but standout tracks are Los Lonely Boys on Castanets, Sheila E. and Pete Escovedo on The Ballad of the Sun and the Moon (changing the song up quite a bit from the excellent version that was on the By the Hand of the Father CD), and the always excellent Ruben Ramos on the beautiful Thirteen Years. But as good as these covers are, most of the songs were sung perfectly the first time around by Alejandro himself, and not everyone is capable of keeping up with the original. Still, it is great to hear different takes on these songs, and the last track shows Alejandro hasn't lost any of the magic.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loving Tribute to a Songwriting Great, December 24, 2004

By 

B. Niedt (Cherry Hill, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo (Audio CD)

You may wonder, who is this guy and why does he deserve a 2-CD tribute? But by the time you get halfway through the first disc, you'll wonder no more: Alejandro Escovedo is a flat-out brilliant songwriter. His music has moved through genres, without losing his sensibility for both roots-rock and his Mexican heritage. Suffice to say that if you like Los Lobos (even though they don't appear), you'll really enjoy this CD. In the same tradition as "Sweet Relief" (the tribute to Victoria Williams, who was stricken with MS about ten years ago), and other albums after it, this project was intended to assist Escovedo, who has hepatitis C and no health insurance. And what assistance he got: a first-rate lineup of artists, from Lucinda Williams, Son Volt and the Jayhawks to Charlie Musselwhite, Ian Hunter and John Cale. Just about everything here works very well, kicking off with Lucinda Williams' great version of "Pyramid of Tears", moving through hot property Los Lonely Boys' cover of "Castanets", and many other highlights by Cowboy Junkies, Chris Stamey, and Escovedo himself. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up (it's a bargain for a 2-CD set with nary a bad track on it). Then, if you haven't already, acquaint yourself with the original albums from this influential and gifted Mexican-American artist.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Por Vida" Rises Above the Tribute Genre, June 20, 2005

By 

Gavin B. (St. Louis MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo (Audio CD)

I'm skeptical of tribute albums and there are a dozen good reasons why nearly all tribute albums fail. The general rule of thumb and the best argument against tribute albums is that the original artist has already recorded the definitive version of the song. Tribute albums inevitably invite comparisons to the original versions and more often than not, come up short.

I steered clear of "Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo" on the grounds of caveat emptor; let buyer beware of the uneven quality of most tribute albums. It was unlikely that even the most gifted interpreter would offer any fresh insights into Escovedo's soulful renditions of his own music. My curiosity finally got the best of me and I finally purchased "Por Vida" a month ago.

Alejandro Escovedo has walked a rough path as a musician since he appeared on the music scene in the Seventies. He's so uniquely talented it's diffcult to pidgeon hole and market him as an musician. Success has been within Escovedo's reach but just beyond his grasp for too many years.

Escovedo's songwriting talent and body of work is on par with Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen or any other great contempory songwriters. You seldom hear Escovedo's name mentioned in the same conversation about relative merits of great comtemporary songwriters, like his noteworthy peers.

"Por Vida", as it turns out, is welcome exception to the rule of law. It is a testament to the universal nature of Escovedo's song writing and his music flatters nearly every artist on this sprawling two disc album. It's a dizzying array of styles that showcases 32 wildly varied music acts with over hundred musicians in the various bands. It's about as diverse a group of musicians as you'll ever hear including; John Cale, Lucinda Williams, Sheila E, Lenny Kaye, Calexico, Charley Musselwhite, Ian Hunter and the Mekons' Jon Langford and Sally Timms.

"Por Vida" may be only tribute genre album that delivers new rewards upon repeated playing. This tribute album is one that won't exiled to the shelf to collect dust after one or two spins. It wouldn't do justice to select two or three stellar cuts on the album, because each artist shines in the glow of Escovedo's beautiful music. Alejandro Escovedo is a songwriter for every season and every generation.

The fact that he's been stricken with often lethal Hepatitis C is yet another burden for Escovedo to carry. Escovedo, like most musicians, cannot afford the comprehensive insurance coverage to treat this deadly disease. All proceeds from this tribute album go the cost of his spiralling health care costs. Regardless of the musical merits of the album itself, it's about the best reason I can think of to purchase this album.