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Tom Russell - Borderland (2001)
"…nobody cared if I died or went to El Paso." - Raymond Chandler.
Marty Robbins' truest heir.
amazon.com
Borderland's guitar and accordion evoke the cantinas of the Texas-Mexico border, but most of the songs here concern what the album-opening "Touch of Evil" calls "the borderline between a woman and a man." Raised in California, veteran troubadour Tom Russell moved a few years ago to the corner of Texas where El Paso meets Juarez, following his songwriting muse into territory that he probes to richly evocative effect throughout these narratives. Though his voice tends toward the wooden ("Hills of Old Juarez" could pass as a Johnny Cash demo) and his melodies too often provide the barest support for his storylines, the help of producer Gurf Morlix, accordionist Joel Guzman, keyboardist Ian McLagan, and singers Eliza Gilkyson and Jimmy LaFave add warmth and range. Highlights extend from the bittersweet balladry of "Where the Dream Begins" to the melodic lilt of "Let It Go," with Dave Alvin, Katy Moffatt, and Russell's longtime guitarist Andrew Hardin collaborating on other material. --Don McLeese
http://rapidshare.de/files/28007146/TRB.rar.html
74. 2 MB @ VBR
Track Listing
1. A Touch Of Evil
2. Down The Rio Grande
3. When Sinatra Played Juarez
4. Where The Dream Begins
5. The Hills Of Old Juarez
6. TheSanta Fe At Midnight
7. Let It Go
8. California Snow
9. The Next Thing Smokin'
10. What Work Is
11. The Road It Gives, The Road It Takes Away
Personnel includes: Tom Russell (vocals, guitar); Eliza Gilkyson (vocals); Andrew Hardin (guitar); Gurf Morlix (slide guitar, bass); Joel Guzman (accordion); Ian McLagan (Hammond B3 organ); Jimmy LaFave (background vocals).
Recorded at Rootball Studios. Austin, Texas in December 2000 and January 2001.
Review by Jeff Burger
Tom Russell proves once again to be perhaps the finest American folk-roots artist that most Americans never heard of. The title of this latest collection reflects a focus on the El Paso-Juarez area, but also on emotional geography and the borders between a man and a woman. Some of the skillfully told stories are clearly autobiographical; all of them paint detailed, memorable portraits. Russell is singing and playing as well as ever here, but he gets an added boost on this disc from producer Gurf Morlix, who has filled the same role for Lucinda Williams and Robert Earl Keen. Morlix helped pick the songs and the band -- which includes such standouts as accordionist Joel Guzman and longtime Russell cohort Andrew Hardin on guitar -- and put them all to good use in a production that keeps Russell's world-weary voice front and center.
Cheers.