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Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo
If I could get my money back for every crappy compilation CD I ever bought, I could take one hell of a nice vacation with the refund. Even ten cents on the dollar would be fine. It seems that most compilation disks dedicated to the music of one artist are just plain awful, full of second-rate bands doing self-indulgent versions of songs that practically insult the artist they intend to praise. This is one amazing exception. It might even be one of my favorite CD’s for 2004.
< BR >
Alejandro Escovedo is a Texas-based (where else?) singer/songwriter whose stylistic reach touches upon virtually every type of indigenous music known to the North American continent, and I’m not overstating myself here. Folk, Tejano, Punk, Country, Rock and Roll, Soul…that hardly represents his range, or his virtuosity, but this CD does. Just a sampling of the artists whom appear here are Lucinda Williams, John Cale. Charlie Musselwhite, Ian Hunter, Steve Earle, Los Lonely Boys, Cowboy Junkies, Lenny Kaye…it’s endless. Escovedo’s solo disks are incredible, but it’s stunning to hear such a diverse scope of artists treat his material as if they had written it for themselves. There’s so much music that it takes two CD’s to hold it all, and believe me, it’s all very, very good, and occasionally stunning. Best of all, all proceeds go to a fund to aid Escovedo’s medical bills, who faces the challenge of a serious illness. Two disks at a discount cost, and I promise you, it’s worth every penny. Best of all, Escovedo himself closes out the disks with a new track, providing all the evidence you didn’t already need to know what the fuss is all about. Buy this now.
Grade: 
 
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