Thirteen Years (Bonus CD) [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Alejandro Escovedo

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 14, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1993
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Texas Music Group
• ASIN: B000065T20
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,199 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
More often than not, strings have often served as a wet blanket in rock & roll, smothering the rough edges and dampening the enthusiasm. There have been exceptions, though, when a small string section has been used sympathetically on rock & roll songs, sprucing up the rhythms and sharpening the tensions. Perhaps the best examples are the Drifters' "There Goes My Baby," the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," Van Morrison's "Cypress Avenue," Lou Reed's "Street Hassle," and Chic's "Good Times." Alejandro Escovedo's brilliant Thirteen Years is a landmark addition to the latter tradition. Unlike Elvis Costello's "Juliet Letters," which used a string quartet without a rock & roll rhythm section, Thirteen Years marries the dense, sustaining harmonies of the one to the implacable momentum of the other. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Harrowing. Roots rock to Soutwestern chamber music, March 22, 2006

By	Frank Camm (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Vol 1. Concept album on his reaction to the suicide of his lover and the mother of his children. Harrowing if you pay attention. Unlike anything I have ever heard-like, maybe, chamber music by Gram Parsons. But Escovedo's voice is always more interesting. From powerful, roots-based rock & roll to strings-based whatever, from his own Chamber Southwest group. Standouts: tr 4-Way it goes (Country-rock anthem that grows from a quiet personal statement to something resonant and bigger. Lyric: "God bless the child that don't have a mother to put her to sleep."). tr 5-Losing your touch (slamming, anthemic rocker that might have come from the Midwest (Bob Seger) or the Stones). tr 10-Tell me while (seemingly from country weeper by Gram Parsons into Escoveda Chamber Southwest). tr 13-Baby's got new plans (anthem of personal loss with the resonance of a last Indian tribe in New Mexico). tr 14-The end (Lyric: "I've got some questions that need answering.... This is really the end.") [52:25]

Vol. 2. Tender, acoustic, elegiac tracks, including 4 instrumental takes on Vol. 1 tracks; 3 live versions of tracks not on Disc 1, and a rocking take on "Gravity". Stand-outs: tr 8-Helpless (slow funky strut that makes me think about Peggy Lee or the Blasters). tr 9-Mountain of mind (straight-ahead country rocker). [37:45]

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sad, quirky look at love, lost and found., June 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Thirteen Years (Audio CD)

Alejandro wrote this album mostly as a dedication to his late ex-wife. The words and music convey not only the problems she and they may have had but also the love he felt for her.

This was the first Escavedo album I bought and that was at a concert of his. It was the first show I had ever seen where I actually got chills, the music was that beautiful. A cello, violin and traditional rock instruments blended for an incredible evening. From that point I was a confirmed Alejandro fan. This album just made me a lifetime fan. Get it today, along with all his albums, you will not be dissapointed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, December 5, 2002

By	Hugues Orsetti (MANOSQUE France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Using a beautiful strings section, this is a record that never falls in heavy bad taste. As a whole it sounds like an hymn - well, it is. It's an admirable effort in a lyrical way, a haunting and pleasant listen. Some rocking moments are welcome, and excellent ("Losing Your Touch", "Mountain Of Mud").
Bonus CD: four instrumental mixes, and four live songs (a personal version of Lou Reed's "Pale Blue Eyes" among them).
Beautiful cover art, excellent sound, this is a satisfying re-issue.