Release Date: 17 April, 2001
Audio CD
Tracks
- Touch of Evil
- Down the Rio Grande
- When Sinatra Played Juarez
- Where the Dream Begins
- Hills of Old Juarez
- Sante Fe at Midnight
- Next Thing Smokin'
- California Snow
- Let It Go
- What Work Is
- Road It Gives, the Road It Takes Away
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Rating 4.5
I can't believe I never heard of this guyI read a review of this CD while on business in St. Louis. I consider myself as at least somewhat savvy about americana and folk music - but I had never heard of Tom Russell. I purchased Borderland and was pleasantly surprised. He rates right at the top of the song writers list. I eventually bought a couple more Russell cds: The Long Way Around, Modern Art, Poor Man's Dream - all very listenable releases - but Borderland remains his finest work of the group I purchased. The story he weaves of unrepented love and loss is unforgettable. I am now a Russell fan and will buy the rest of his cds and hope to see him sing "Veterans Day" in person sometime soon.Literary and Musical BeautyThis past summer, I commuted an hour and a half each way to an English teaching position. I popped a CD recommended to me by our local musical guru into my CD player. I had listened to Borderland a couple of times and found it pleasing enough. But with nothing but time on my hands as I drove the miles across the Appalachian Mountains, I REALLY listened to this CD--and I fell in love. In love with the lyrics. In love with the stories. In love with the guitar. In love with the accordian. In love with the voice. (Need I say "in love with Tom Russell"?) The reviewer who called Russell's voice "wooden" doesn't understand the rich nuance of wood, I guess. I literally listened to this album over and over again as I drove back and forth each day last summer, and I have yet to tire of it. Russell evokes the mixture of joy and melancholy that someone who has lived a while in this world knows is our human lot. Like the chorus of Touch of Evil--"Why don't you touch me anymore?"--many of Russell's lyrics are raw, simple and honest, while others are genuine literary gems. I have just ordered two other Russell CDs, and I am eagerly awaiting their arrival. I always loved driving on the open road, but now it's better than I ever imagined. These songs are so beautiful they hurt.This is the stuffI was introduced to Tom Russell's music last night at a great, intimate concert in Montclair NJ. The ridiculously talented Andrew Hardin stood strumming at his side. Together they performed just about every song on this CD. This is the stuff.
The good stuff. Lyrics that take you on a long ride, rich melodies, cantina style guitar riffs. I bought the CD after the concert and should have gotten a speeding ticket for how fast I raced home to play it. "Touch of Evil" is a great homage to Orson's last and most bizarre film. If "When Sinatra Played Juarez" doesn't get you singing along, have your ears and your head examined. "California Snow" - a story seldom told, What Work Is, The Road it Gives - songs to cool to be butchered in praise by a hack like me. If you like Tom Russell, this is a must have. If you are new to him, this is the place to start.
Nuff said. |
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