Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women

Dave Alvin

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 26, 2009)
• Original Release Date: May 26, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yep Roc Records
• ASIN: B001VBYQD4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,209 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #96 in

  Music > Country > Alt-Country & Americana

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Grammy winner, Dave Alvin, has been roaming the highways of American music for over a quarter century. During those decades he's busted speakers with roots rock kick-starters, The Blasters, as well as mined the depths of country, folk and blues with his solo projects. A mainstay during much of this journey has been Alvin's electrifying band The Guilty Men. Following the recent death of Dave's best friend and Guilty Men accordionist Chris Gaffney in early 2008, Alvin decided to move in an exciting new musical direction. In October 2008 he stepped onto the stage of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco with an all-star, all-female group. Since dubbed The Guilty Women, the group consists of Americana scene vets Cindy Cashdollar, Nina Gerber, Laurie Lewis, Sarah Brown, Amy Farris, Christy McWilson and Lisa Pankrantz. Special guests include Marcia Ball and Susie Thompson. The self-titled debut from this unique assemblage of players, led by Alvin, is a spirited collection of thoughtful yet dynamic tunes featuring world-class musicianship worthy of his now legendary pedigree.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alvin kicks up new sparks with guilty women, May 26, 2009

By	hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Having debuted this all-female backing lineup at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in 2008, Dave Alvin and his estrogen-packing band have waxed a gem. Christy McWilson and Amy Farris' harmonies and duets prove compelling partners to Alvin's baritone on an album of blues, rock, folk and a few surprises. Chief among the surprises is the Cajun fiddle and pedal steel arrangement of Alvin's "Marie Marie," rendered so convincingly that it will take you a second to remember the Blasters signature original. From there the group comes out blasting with the galloping electric folk-blues "California's Burning," an allegorical tale that provides a requiem for the Golden State's cash-strapped coffers. Alvin and McWilson duet like Richard and Mimi Fariña here, and Cindy Cashdollar adds some fiery slide playing.

The passing of friend and bandmate Chris Gaffney was one of Alvin's motivations for forming this alternative to his Guilty Men, and he's obviously in a reflective, memorial mood. "Downey Girl" remembers fellow Downey High School student Karen Carpenter and in his middle age Alvin finds a sympathetic appraisal of her fame. Nostalgia for young-pup years has always threaded through Alvin's work, and with "Boss of the Blues" he ties together a nostalgic memory of Joe Turner with Turner's own nostalgic memories of Downey's golden years as a blues hothouse. One of the album's happiest and transformative memories, of being dropped off at a Jimi Hendrix concert, opens with the "Folsom Prison" rewrite, "My mother told me, be a good boy, and don't do nothing wrong."

Christy McWilson (Dynette Set, Pickets) sings lead on a pair of her own originals, "Weight of the World" and "Potter's Field," continuing the mood of struggle that pervaded her two Alvin-produced solo albums. A real standout is her up-tempo duet with Alvin on a cover of Tim Hardin's oft-covered "Don't Make Promises." Alvin and McWilson have paired for `60s covers before, notably Moby Grape's "805" on 2002's Bed of Roses, but this one's extended acoustic guitar jam really hits the mark. The closing cover of "Que Sera, Sera" suggests Alvin may be ready to move past his grief, but the song's fatalism is strangely at odds with the rocking country blues arrangement.

When he's not fondly remembering happier times, Alvin sings low through much of the album, reaching a level of quiet introspection on "These Times We're Living In" that brings to mind Leonard Cohen. The loss of Chris Gaffney has left a mark on Alvin, and for now at least, his music. His backing band is not just a terrifically talented quintet deeply steeped in the roots of their shared music, but a place for Alvin to rest his soul and rethink his relationship to the Guilty Men minus one. This is more than a temporary respite; it's a revitalizing step towards artistic and personal rediscovery. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Music to Nod Off To, July 17, 2009

By	Dan Bogaty "Mr. Congeniality" - See all my reviews

Let me state at the outset that I love Dave Alvin and have seen him numerous times with his band The Guilty Men. I have never seen anything but a great show and one of the main reasons for this is that the band rocks. It's tight and spontaneous at the same time. And of course, Alvin is an outstanding guitarist and song writer.
But this CD, DAVE ALVIN & THE GUILTY WOMEN, is the worst by Dave I've ever heard. This Alvin CD feels to me like dreary folk-fest by a collection of young (I guess) and disconcertingly earnest women. I like female singers a lot, but I prefer that they have a little soul, be it R&B, country, whatever. Lee Ann Womack, for example, or Patty Loveless are singers who have the cojones to work well with Alvin. But as the women he has with him on DA&TGW do not, the CD consists of non-descript and uninteresting songs which fit their styles.
There is one absolutely great song, "Boss of the Blues", on the CD. This song would be right at home on any other Alvin CD. "Marie Marie", one of Alvin's older songs is fine, though somewhat uninspired. And one of the Guilty Women's songs, "Potter's Field" is pleasant enough.
On the other end of the spectrum, "Don't Make Promises" is not only enervating at best, but it's close to 7 minutes long, and about 2/3 of the way through it, though I had stopped actively listening to it a while back, I became aware of it as an irritating background drone. Slightly better, due at least in part to the fact that they're shorter, are "River Under the Road", "These Times We're Living In", and "Weight of the World". It's not that the songs are unpleasant, but that they're boring.
And the CD slinks on out with an unnecessary Alvin version, for whatever reason, of "Que Sera Sera".
Mine is clearly a minority opinion here, but I've listened to the CD four times now in the hopes that I might grow to like it, but it ain't gonna happen. In my opinion, DA&TGW is pretty much a waste of time, and I rate it two stars only because of "Boss of the Blues" which is the only song on here I'll listen to again, and because it's Dave Alvin.
------
What follows is an addition to the above CD review:

I went to a concert by Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women on August 22, 2009, at the Blueberry Hill Duck Room in St. Louis, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen anywhere.
The Guilty Women flat out rip it up. You will not find a more burning band anywhere and I have to say they were as good as The Guilty Men, and that's damn good.
Even "Que Sera, Sera" was terrific, as Dave played it as a Chuck Berry number.
I still feel the same way about the CD, but the women playing with him have soul to spare, and anyone who likes Dave Alvin or just great rock and roll should see their show if you can.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What can you say, Dave's a National Treasure, June 6, 2009

By	Squirreldawg (Jackson, MS) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dave Alvin and The Guilty Women (MP3 Download)

Another great release from Dave Alvin. This band that he has assembled is great and they complement Dave very well. Dave just has one of those voices that you can't wait to hear in a duet and this record gives you some great harmonies.

Let's face it, Dave has yet to put out a record that is not an instant classic and this one is a great addition to his body of work. I'm just hoping that he will continue to record with this band for a while.

If you're new to Americana, you could not pick a better artist to start with. His ability to blend blues, country and rock n' roll is really unmatched in the industy. It's effortless and natural. A true voice in American Music.