Alejandro Escovedo? If you don't know his story, it's quite interesting as he's had a rocky road throughout his life, including 4 marriages and a near-death experience from hepatitis C a few short years ago. He's been in the music biz since around 1975 when he formed a punk band in San Francisco called The Nuns, then moved to NY and joined the Judy Nylon Band, another punk act. Next came Rank & File in Austin to play a fusion of punk and country (WTF?). Then he and his brother started a band called True Believers and opened for Los Lobos in 1982 and 83, and the two groups ended up touring together for about 4 years. He started teh Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra in 1990 to create, as he put it "a Southwestern version of Brian Eno's Another Green World", and has cellists, violinists, trumpeters, and steel guitars on the stage at the weekly gigs.

Anyway, this CD is sounding pretty good to me so far after a couple spins, and his lyrics reflect on his health issues and his other troubles. John Cale joins the fun, along with a bunch of others not so notable, but this one is Swish recommended.

Swish