ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO
Gravity
Thirteen Years
By the Hand of the Father
(Lone Star/Texas Music Group)
Let's just come out and say it: Alejandro Escovedo is Texas' greatest musical resource. The San Antonio native has created some of the most creative rock music to ever come from the Lone Star State, the result of nearly 30 years of experience playing everything from punk to roots rock to chamber music with bands like the Nuns, Rank and File and the True Believers. As a solo artist he often mixed the genres with which he'd worked together into a distinctively individual vision of pure self-expression. While he's yet to garner the financial and popular acclaim he deserves, critics and discriminating music fans picked up on his genius a decade ago. It wasn't enough to keep some of his records in print, however; the dissolution of his first label Watermelon Records sent Gravity and Thirteen Years, his first two albums, into the cutout bins and onto the rare collectibles list. Those records are an exorcism of sorts, as Escovedo used the songs found on them as therapy in dealing with the suicide of his estranged wife Bobbie. Their beauty has been much missed over the years, but Texas Music Group, an outgrowth of Antone's Records, has stepped in to bring these gems back to life. TMG is also distinguishing itself by releasing By the Hand of the Father, a song cycle and stage play inspired by the life and times of Escovedo's father. All of these records display the brilliance of one of Texas' most inspired artists.

Gravity remains Escovedo's masterpiece. This isn't to say that he hasn't made great records since, as he most certainly has. It's just that there's a sense of release on this record, a sense that lightning has finally escaped the bottle. The songs, most of them inspired by Bobbie, had been in his repertoire for years, finally making their way on tape, and the sounds of joy and relief at this accomplishment permeate the disk. The rockers "One More Time" and "Pyramid of Tears," the ballads "Last to Know" and "Broken Bottle" and especially the dignified, dramatic anthems "Five Hearts Breaking," "Paradise" and "Gravity/Falling Down Again" remain some of the greatest songs Escovedo, or anyone from the fertile Texas music scene, has ever composed. "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore," a resigned declaration of pain and regret, is still his most haunting piece, especially as delivered in this bare-bones, piano-based arrangement. There was some controversy over producer Stephen Bruton's decision to use studio players instead of Escovedo's horn-driven regular band; the somewhat dry, basic rock arrangements hold the tunes back somewhat from the heights they frequently reached in concert. But the songs are so good they'd be superior tracks even if performed by a drunken frat boy who'd picked up the guitar for the first time the day before. This edition is made even better with the addition of an outtake of "Tired Skin," a song he would later re-record on his third album With These Hands, and a bonus disk of live Gravity tracks performed with a string section, as a preview of the sound he would pursue on his next album.

That album would Thirteen Years, a record more closely identified with the story of his relationship to Bobbie, though it also plants the seeds that would grow into By the Hand of the Father. It also presents a more unified sound than Gravity, a mix of roots rock and chamber music that brings the strings to the fore as never before. Thirteen Years is heavier on ballads than the previous record, and the cellos and violins perfectly augment graceful tunes like "The Ballad of the Sun and the Moon," "Baby's Got New Plans" and the title track, often playing the main riff. "The Way It Goes" conjures up a ghostly atmosphere using tasteful feedback, while the buoyant strings behind "Tell Me Why" prevent the song from falling into the dirge toward which it so obviously leans. Escovedo and Bruton also break up the balladry with the Stones-like rockers "Losing Your Touch" and "Mountain of Mud" and move nicely into jazzy Tom Waits territory with "Helpless." Occasionally things threaten to get a little too precious, especially with all the versions of "Thirteen Years Theme" that pop up from time to time, and a couple of tunes ("Try, Try, Try" and "She Towers Above") don't quite rate. But overall Thirteen Years is a remarkable follow-up to Gravity. This version also comes with a bonus disk that collects the live tracks from the out-of-print EP The End/Losing Your Touch, rescuing Escovedo's excellent versions of Peter Case's "Two Angels," Mott the Hoople's "I Wish I Was Your Mother" and the Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes" from oblivion. It also adds instrumental versions of four Years tracks and a version of "Gravity" performed by Escovedo's amped-up hard rock band Buick MacKane.

By the Hand of the Father is, in some ways, the work to which Escovedo's entire musical career has been leading. Part song cycle, part theatrical soundtrack, Father presents a series of scenes, songs and vignettes about the men who emigrated from Mexico to America in the early 20th century and the cultural legacy they left for their children. While Escovedo first conceived of this work as a tribute to his own father, the piece took shape after he was joined by other writers, musicians and actors of Latino descent, becoming a tribute to an entire generation of Mexican-American men and the hard lives they led. Dialogue from actors Rose Portillo (also a co-creator) and Kevin Sifuentes interweaves with songs from prior Escovedo works. Classics like "Ballad of the Sun and the Moon," "With These Hands," "Wave," "Rosalie" and even the True Believers' "Hard Road" find their natural home in re-recorded versions amidst the stories told by Sifuentes and Portillo. A handful of new songs are also present as well. "Did You Tell Me" features guest vocals from legendary Texas singer Ruben Ramos, while "Inside This Dance" is related by Escovedo's older brother Pete, percussionist for Santana. The quiet, powerful "Silence" takes on Mexican-American men's reluctance to share their emotions and has the makings of another Escovedo classic. A few older songs not written by the artist are sprinkled in as well, like the Cesar Rosas-crooned "Mexico Americano," sung in tribute to Latinos in uniform.

With mostly acoustic arrangements, the tracks surround Escovedo's acoustic guitar with strings and percussion, with particular emphasis on cello. It's a lovely, exotic sound that captures the era of which Escovedo and the other write without delving into false nostalgia. While the artists involved look back with some fondness on their fathers and grandfathers, there's little sentimentality here—the bad times resonate as much as the good times, and the finger of blame doesn't hesitate to point at the patriarchs themselves if it's warranted. For Escovedo, the best way to tell the stories of these men is to tell the truth, plain and unvarnished. By the Hand of the Father is an ambitious work that spans generations without being precious or fussy about it, making clear Escovedo's place in the pantheon of major artists. Ten years into his solo career, Escovedo has arguably not yet reached his peak. With a rich, distinctive catalog behind him, he stands ready to further dazzle us with his own unique brand of artistic brilliance. Michael Toland

For fans of: Los Lobos, Michelle Shocked, Tom Russell