Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo

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

Product Description
On this two disc set, Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, over 30 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. Participating artists include Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Los Lonely Boys, John Cale, Cowboy Junkies, Son Volt, Jayhawks, Ian Hunter and many more. The album also features a previously unreleased performance by Alejandro Escovedo.

Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo

Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo,Various Artists,Alejandro Escovedo,Or. Music,Adult Alternative Pop/Rock,Alternative Pop/Rock,Folk-Rock,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop Collections,Roots Rock,Singer/Songwriter,United States of America,V/A Compilations

Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo

Average customer rating:

These artists all love Alejandro, why wouldn't you?
"Por Vida" Rises Above the Tribute Genre
One of the best collections of covers you'll ever find
Loving Tribute to a Songwriting Great
13 years

Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo
Various Artists , and Alejandro Escovedo
Manufacturer: Or. Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Rock | Styles | Music

Roots Rock | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

A Man Under the Influence
The Boxing Mirror
Thirteen Years (Bonus CD)
Gravity (Bonus CD)
With These Hands

ASIN: B0002E5O9Q
Release Date: 2004-07-27

Tracks:

Lucinda Williams - Pyramid of Tears
Lenny Kaye - Sacramento & Polk
Steve Earle & Reckless Kelly - Paradise
Jon Langford and Sally Timms - Broken Bottle
Calexico - Wave
Jennifer Warnes - Pissed Off 2AM
John Cale - She Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Los Lonely Boys - Castanets
Cowboy Junkies - Don't Need You
Charlie Sexton - Dear Head On the Wall
Jon Dee Graham - Helpless\
Howe Gelb - She Towers Above
Ian McLagan and the Bump Band - Wedding Day
Tres Chicas - Rhapsody
Peter Case - The End
Bob Neuwirth - Rosalie
Section String Quartet - Crooked Frame

Tracks:

Ian Hunter - One More Time
Jayhawks - Last to Know
Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra - Velvet Guitar
Sheila E. and Pete Escovedo - The Ballad of the Sun and Moon
The Chris Stamey Experience - One True Love
Son Volt - Sometimes
Rosie Flores - Inside This Dance
Charlie Musselwhite - Everybody Loves Me
M. Ward with Vic Chesnutt & Howe Gelb - Way It Goes
Javier Escovedo - The Rain Won't Help
Caitlin Cary - By Eleven
Minus 5 - I Was Drunk
The Dragons - Gravity
Ruben Ramos - Thirteen Years
Alejandro Escovedo - Break This Time

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

Album Description

On this two disc set, Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, over 30 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. Participating artists include Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Los Lonely Boys, John Cale, Cowboy Junkies, Son Volt, Jayhawks, Ian Hunter and many more. The album also features a previously unreleased performance by Alejandro Escovedo.

Customer Reviews:

These artists all love Alejandro, why wouldn't you?.......2006-03-11

Maybe I'd been living under a rock or something... but I'd never heard of Alejandro Escovedo until this tribute came out. My interest was piqued by the All-Star roster of artists that performed. The first song I heard was "Paradise" by Steve Earle & Reckless Kelly. Now THAT just blew me away, so I delved farther and found a lot of great songs on this album. This all lead to buying each and evey album that Alejandro has done, including his stuff w/ Buick MacKane and True Believers. I felt as though I missed something very important up until that point. This isn't a bad place to start for those unexposed to the brilliance of the man. He can rock, he can swoon. Make you giggle, make you cry. Check this album out, then check out Alejandro's albums. You won't regret it! I swear!

"Por Vida" Rises Above the Tribute Genre.......2005-06-20

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.

One of the best collections of covers you'll ever find.......2005-01-20

If you can't find something on this that you think is first-rate, you don't like music. There are one or two weak cuts, but the best songs here are simply amazing. The Section Quartet's take on "Crooked Frame" was a revelation. Other highlights include the John Dee Graham cover of "Helpless", Peter Case's "The End", and the Dragons' version of "Gravity". I've already bought four CDs on the basis of what I've heard on this one, and I will be buying more.

Loving Tribute to a Songwriting Great.......2004-12-25

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.

13 years.......2004-11-16

Alejandro has been writing darn good music for a long time now. Often overlooked in the mass market popularity contest of the music business, but respected by his peers. It's a great intro to some of his music, and I recommend it as such. It may be only me, but I'm a little tired of Los Lonely Boys, a better story than band, and Castenets is over played. And why did someone not cover 13 Years, one of Al's very best songs ever?