Customer Reviews

Real Animal

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Escovedo has collaborated with longtime pal Chuck Prophet on the songs here, and come up with a career defining, if not quite desperately divine little record. Here's one that tells the tales, names the names, uplifts, crushes, teases & challenges the listener and simply rocks it's delightful & bedraggled heart out when appropriate.

Chronicling his life as a journeyman in the underground music world, this record is an audio companion to Escovedo's near death experience with Hepatitis C and his phoenix like resurrection to find respect and admiration from his rock n roll idols who've since become peers and friends ( guys like Bruce Springsteen and Ian Hunter). From his formative day's as a young punk at The Golden Bear club in Southern California, to staying alongside Sid & Nancy at the Chelsea Hotel, to his decades of raw road dogging around the world, all the road miles are documented.

Whether you are new to his saga, or recall the down and dirty days with The Nuns or Rank & File with Chip & Tony Kinman of the Dils, there's something for you here. It's a real animal of a rock n roll record in an "American Idle" mall mouse music world that may not realize what that means. Why wait for marching orders from the radio or Paula Abdul and her idiot buddies, just get it and hear for yourself these sad but True Believer stories that are simply something anyone should be able to appreciate.

Former Bowie and T-Rex producer Tony Visconti has called it one of the best thing's he's twiddled the knobs on in years, and I'd simply have to agree. If you are not up for the whole thousand mile musical journey with all it's slow side streets and speed bumps, at the very least download the awe inspiring opening cut "Always A Friend", and treat yourself to a rollicking retro-tastic rave up of a road ready tune.

psst: If ya like that one, and are in a hurry, and wanna skip the beatific balladry, here's a couple of the other ripping rockers worth checking out "9. Real As An Animal" "12. Chip N Tony"

i'm stunned at how strong this album is.

Who would've thought that Alejandro's writing would continue to get even better? And the band(one of the finest live bands you'll ever hear) is in full bloom here, powerful and surprising in each cut - this sucker is as good as it gets, no exageration.

it's a bargain at any price, and at $9.99 here and at newbury comix this has got to be the greatest buy out there.

Hector outdoes himself throughout, btw.

as much as i love his other albums, this is the 1st studio work that hit me as immediate and as powerful as a live Alejandro show does (i've been to more than 20 since his 1st solo release).

alex, if you read this, way to go from the guy with the wood headphones.
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Stop the presses!!! er, i guess I should say say CONTINUE them... the track listing is expanded on the lp version - by one more new song and 1 great cover (just be surprised, now) and it makes this absolutely great rock album even greater.

also as it should be the analog is even better sounding, and the pressing is super quiet (AND cost under 20 bucks - vs the 20 to 40 plus usd for most of the "audiophile" pressings being made today (many of which are not so quiet at all).

hard to imagine that this is "better", as it's already an immediate must have for anybody who digs the stones or the velvet underground/Lou Reed/john cale or bowie or ian hunter/mott or patti smith/lenny kaye or neil young/buffalo springfield and i really ought to add any and all garage rock.

go ahead and add to this list the best of the best by every essential rock band, from clash to brian wilson. no, wait, make it every ELEMENTAL rock band - because Alejandro's stuff is SO good that it creates new space in the musical universe where none existed before.

btw , his music often transcends genre, though this is most definately a rocker.

He's been this good really since the 1st solo album and certainly from his album "13 years" on theirs been no one building as important a new rock catalogue as Alexandro Escovedo.

But if you've got the turntable get this on lp (too). if not, get a turntable and then get it on lp. if not, get over it!

Just when you think Alejandro's albums can not get any better! Real Animal is great, great, great. If you ever have a chance to see Alejandro alive, go for it. Go out of your way to see him and the band, it is very unique experience - and different each time! Oh - and to see/hear him "unplugged" in smaller surroundings - wow, BREATHLESS!!!

I think this is Alejandro Escovedo's best studio album to date. Nothing matches the energy of an Alejandro live show, but I think this comes close. This is, flat out, a great rock and roll record. Legendary rock critic Dave Marsh calls it the "album of the year," which is saying something. (Note: As I type this review it's only late June, so calling this the album of the year may be pushing it just a bit...but it is defintely going to be a finalist for that title at the end of the year!) Tony Visconti's stellar production helps make this album sound great, as does Chuck Prophet's outstanding guitar work. Escovedo is on top of his game vocally, and this batch of songs just shows that he's getting stronger as a writer. He may have been down and out for awhile with his illness and all, but he's back...and he's better than ever! Standout tracks--for me at least--are "Always a Friend," "Chelsea Hotel '78," and "Sister Lost Soul" (these are the first three tracks on the album, so what does that tell ya??). "Sensitive Boys" and "Swallows of San Juan" are also great songs on the mellower side. Nice to see Mr. Escovedo back on top and getting much critical acclaim.

I've been listening to Alejandro for more years than I'm sure he wants some fans to know he's been making music. With each record he shows growth and his unbelievable depth of inspiration. You take an artist like Alejandro(and let's face all rock and roller's want to be viewed as cool)and every now and again they produce a work that shows just how honestly gifted they really are and the fans that already "get" them know that the record is just the tip of a deep reservoir of soul. Is this the big E's "Sound and the Fury"? I once thought "13 Years" was an album that could never be surpassed. I've changed my opinion. I honestly think "Real Animal" for the time being is "the" record of his career. Few albums work for me first time I play them all the way through. "Real Animal" is the rare exception. Great job! Thank you, Alejandro. If I'd had this when Isaac was born he'd had to have listened to the entire record. siempre.
ps. ironically on a division of EMI-what goes around....

I first became aware of Alejandro when I saw him perform on a TV show and said to myself, "I've just got to have this guy's album." Since I love the blues, I thought the safest bet would be to get his Bourbonitis Blues CD, and I'm not disappointed. It's got to be one of the best I have ever listened to. Alejandro's got such a curious and successful mix of styles and genres ... I ordered Real Animal at the same time I ordered Bourbonitis Blues - and, again, was not disappointed. I have subsequently ordered three more of his CDs after listening to the preview tracks provided by Amazon. This service is an excellent way to determine whether you will like the album you are thinking of buying ...

Every aspect of this album is great. The lyrics. The passion. Oh, and the music is great. Alejandro escaped from the jaws of death, and his songs help us feel glad to be alive. This is his best album (which is a big feat) and will likely be the album of the year.

After his bout with Hepatitus C, Alejandro Escovedo released THE BOXING MIRROR, an album that examined his place in life after a brush with death. His work including that album, has always been sharply introspective, handling tough subjects with the right balance of despair and hope. With his great new album, REAL ANIMAL, Escovedo now takes the time to celebrate his life and accomplishments to great effect.

He celebrates his musical roots on this on; loudly. Taking inspiration from The Stooges, David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Lou Reed and late 70's punk, REAL ANIMAL rocks harder than any Escovedo release that I've heard. Songs like CHELSEA HOTEL 78, TONY AND CHIP, REAL AS AN ANIMAL and NUNS SONG are full blooded rockers that would do his influences proud. SESITIVE BOYS quietly comments on artists like himself trying to make their voices heard in the world with a knowing eye for detail

He celebrates the fact that he's still alive and breathing on this planet on great songs like the metaphor for his Hep C GOLDEN BEAR, PEOPLE and the great emotional closer SLOW DOWN. SLOW DOWN perfectly punctuates the total feeling of the album.

He celebrates people that he met along the way in the opening rocker FRIEND IN YOU (which sounds like the type of rocker Los Lobos used to effortlessly kick out circa THE NEIGHBORHOOD), SISTER LOST SOUL and HOLLYWOOD HILLS. These songs all possess the great lyrical touches and musical sense of his esteemed earlier work.

Mostly though, this is a celebration for Alejandro Escovedo fans, and music fans in general. Coming after the moving, but uneven BOXING MIRROR, it's another classic album in a career loaded with classic stuff. From the great songs, powerful songwriting, outstanding musicianship (nods to guitarist Chuck Prophet and drummer Hector Munoz) and superb production by Tony Visconti, REAL ANIMAL is to my ears the best CD that I've heard this year. I'll be pleasantly surprised if I hear a better one

All of the other reviews here are spot-on...

This album rocks... it may well be his best studio work (though all of his albums are awesome)... it's almost as good as seeing him live... great...

All of that is true and more. If you only buy one album this summer this should be the one.

And, speaking as an Austinite who has seen Alejandro live more than a dozen times, if you get the chance to see him live, DO IT!

Other than "An Introduction" a fine compilation, this is the first cd of A.E. I have heard. I did see his appearance on "Austin City Limits." From the little I know of this man, he is lucky to be alive, let alone making records and I guess you have to know that to appreciate the lyrics. I bought this
because I heard "Nuns Song" on the radio. I recognized producer Tony
Visconti's sound. Anyone who grew up with Bowie should. A.E. seems to
be reliving a lot of history here and that makes the best songs because the
rest is filler. Stand out tracks like "Chelsea Hotel" and "Sister Lost Soul" set
the tone. The one track I wished was deleted is "Golden Bear." It sounds
like an outtake from a Bowie record. The last 3 songs are all great.
"Slow Down" gave me goose bumps, like a page out of my own life.
I have a feeling the more I listen to this, the more I'm going to like it.