Aural Fixations

DAVE ALVIN
Ashgrove
(Yep Roc)
For years, I've suspected that songwriter/guitarist Dave Alvin had a blues record in him. Of course, the blues is only one element in Alvin's roots rock cocktail, which also includes generous shots of folk, country, rockabilly and old fashioned bar-band rock & roll. But whenever Alvin rips into a fiery guitar solo or covers an old R&B chestnut, the blues influence grabs me by the lapels and shakes me like a leaf on a tree. I've always hoped he'd give in to his instincts (after all, the guy learned from Big Joe Turner) and make a straight-up blues album. Ashgrove isn't that album, as to focus on one style above all others would probably be a betrayal of his own artistic instincts, but it's got a stronger blues presence than any Alvin project previously heard. "Black Sky," "Black Haired Girl" and the chilling crime novelette "Out of Control" dig deep into an electric blues bag, extracting soul and fire in large doses. Which isn't to say Alvin neglects the other sides of his multi-faceted personality. The romantic loss of "Rio Grande" lopes along to an anthemic country rock groove, while the commentary on the inspirational power of radio in "Nine Volt Heart" comes as close to pop as he'll ever stray. "Everett Ruess" pays tribute to the infamous mountaineer with gentle folk, while "The Man in the Bed" explores a father's dying days through gentle, heartfelt balladry. "The Sinful Daughter," an overview of alleged femme fatales through the ages, combines hard country and savage blues rock in a way Travis Tritt could never achieve. The final track "Somewhere in Time" betrays its writing collaboration with Los Lobos as its melodic atmospherics combines with blues guitar for a song that sounds like nothing the man has ever done before. Alvin's empathy for his downtrodden characters and effortless storytelling skills work their mojo no matter what the musical setting—the man's songs have always been the focus of his albums. But the spirit of the blues hangs over this record, and on no track is it more obvious than on the title tune. "Ashgrove" finds Alvin reminiscing about his days at the titular club, learning from the blues greats that played there and applying the lessons to today's times. Without question one of Alvin's best records, Ashgrove is also a magnificent achievement by any standard, a record the melodies and lyrics of which resonate in the heart, mind and soul long after the CD stops spinning. Michael Toland [buy it]