Bourbonitis Blues

Digital

Alejandro and his "classical glam" Orchestra at their finest: off the cuff, loose and tight.

Full Description

Bourbonitis Blues was recorded straight up, no chaser, (in Chicago, Austin, and Chapel Hill) in down home style--this is Alejandro and his "classical glam" Orchestra at their finest: off the cuff, loose and tight, and a 9 song buffet showcasing the power of their incredible live shows.

Pulled together from three different sessions, it shows the breadth of Alejandro's skills. All very different, they are all thoroughly compelling representations of a man who would come to Chicago several times a year and destroy the room, quietly or loudly, every time.

Four songs were recorded live on the stage of a site of frequent Alejandro shows: Fitzgerald's in Berwyn IL. We brought in a remote studio, a bunch of friends and the band (with cello and violin) knocked these out in couple hours before the doors opened. "I Was Drunk" was a new song at the time and is now part of Alejandro's canon of classics and live staple. "Sacramento & Polk" is a full on raunchy rock assault about his days living in SF. "Pale Blue Eyes" is a Velvet Underground cover done sparsely and gorgeously with guest vocalist Kelly Hogan; it's the sound in-between heartbeats. "California Blues" is what happens when we let Jon Langford near a stage. He got up and stole the limelight on the Jimmie Rogers classic.

Three Songs were recorded by Chris Stamey (dB's) in Chapel Hill. It's a quieter line up. Haunting covers of Ian Hunter ("Irene Wild"), John Cale ("Amsterdam") and a deconstructed creepy version of the Gun Club's "Sex Beat" featuring Melissa Swingle from Trailer Bride.

The last song, the original "Guilty," was recorded in Austin with his TX boys and struts right out of prime-time Stones territory.

So, if you've ever had trouble picking WHICH Alejandro you like best, this is your album. It's a taste of it all.

Short Description

Escovedo reveals a classic rock ’n’ roll attitude tempered by his survivor instincts [and] his sonic templates are basic but essential — the Stones, the Velvets, Iggy and maybe some Mott the Hoople.

— Metro Times
Bourbonitis Blues is a masterpiece of despair, the soundtrack for those nights when heartache is harder to shake than heroin.

— Miami New Times
Alejandro Escovedo makes you wanna cry, fall in love, and get loaded all at the same time... He'll put cellos and violins on a song that'll make the awful, tucked-away memories of every broken heart you've had come flooding back to you. And then he'll take those old nightmares he left you with, flip them over, and blow 'em up with some of the nastiest, gnarliest Stones-type rockers that even the best bar bands only dream about pulling off.

— Orange County Weekly
Bourbonitis Blues comes the closest yet to getting everything Escovedo does best down on a single disc. BB finally touches on both the fragile poignancy and reckless bashing that make Escovedo's shows so exhilarating. They nailed it.

— Now Magazine
With The Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra, he has synthesized the disparate elements of his musical background, punk, art rock, cowpunk, and roots rock into a wonderfully rich, distinctive and atmospheric sound, one, however, that his previous labels were unable or unwilling to put on record in uncompromised form.

— 3rd Coast Music