With These Hands | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1996 | |||
Studio | The Hit Shack, Austin, Texas | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Label | Rykodisc [1] | |||
Producer | T.S. Bruton | |||
Alejandro Escovedo chronology | ||||
|
With These Hands is the third album by the American roots rock musician Alejandro Escovedo, released in 1996. [2] [3] It was his only solo album for Rykodisc. [4]
The album was produced by T.S. Bruton. [5] "Tugboat" is a tribute to Sterling Morrison; Escovedo knew him from their days working at the University of Texas. [6] Willie Nelson duets with Escovedo on "Nickel and a Spoon". [7] The title track includes contributions from several Escovedos, including Alejandro's brother Pete and niece Sheila E. [8] Jennifer Warnes sang backing vocals on "Pissed Off 2AM". [9] Charlie Sexton also contributed to With These Hands. [10]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [11] |
The Austin Chronicle | [12] |
Calgary Herald | [13] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [14] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [15] |
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Uncut | [16] |
Vancouver Sun | [10] |
The Chicago Reader stated that Escovedo's "warm, slow-bubbling melodies are given alternately dense, sumptuous, and spare treatments that help the ballads flutter and the rockers rock." [17] Trouser Press praised the duet with Nelson, labeling it "classical-folk balladry." [18] Miami New Times called the album "a grim and sprawling masterpiece that weds his rough-hewn baritone with classic rock and roll riffs and the elegiac ambiance of vintage country weepers." [19] The New York Times considered the album to be the best of Escovedo's first three, writing that it "doesn't try for comfort, but for stoic acceptance." [20]
The Philadelphia Inquirer determined that Escovedo "employs a blunt rock attack softened by the calm, considered observations of a natural poet." [21] Entertainment Weekly opined that the "multi-textured roots-pop ... would be utterly beguiling if it weren’t for his unresonant, plain-as-dough voice." [22] The Calgary Herald declared that "Alejandro is on a roll, arguably the most original voice in America today, a man whose heart and soulful music aches with a sense of being that is a beauty, however bruised, to behold." [13]
AllMusic wrote that, "if With These Hands doesn't break much new ground for him, it shows he's still in full command of his considerable gifts as a musician, and it's an impressive achievement." [11] Reviewing the 2003 reissue, The Austin Chronicle called the album "dense with guests, guitars, and every musical spicing save for mortar and pestle." [12] Uncut thought that "it’s a suitably raucous affair, though the full band tends to swamp Escovedo’s dusky timbre occasionally." [16]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Put You Down" | |
2. | "Slip" | |
3. | "Crooked Frame" | |
4. | "Pissed Off 2AM" | |
5. | "Nickel and a Spoon" | |
6. | "Little Bottles" | |
7. | "Sometimes" | |
8. | "Guilty" | |
9. | "Tired Skin" | |
10. | "With These Hands" | |
11. | "Tugboat" |
With These Hands | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1996 | |||
Studio | The Hit Shack, Austin, Texas | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Label | Rykodisc [1] | |||
Producer | T.S. Bruton | |||
Alejandro Escovedo chronology | ||||
|
With These Hands is the third album by the American roots rock musician Alejandro Escovedo, released in 1996. [2] [3] It was his only solo album for Rykodisc. [4]
The album was produced by T.S. Bruton. [5] "Tugboat" is a tribute to Sterling Morrison; Escovedo knew him from their days working at the University of Texas. [6] Willie Nelson duets with Escovedo on "Nickel and a Spoon". [7] The title track includes contributions from several Escovedos, including Alejandro's brother Pete and niece Sheila E. [8] Jennifer Warnes sang backing vocals on "Pissed Off 2AM". [9] Charlie Sexton also contributed to With These Hands. [10]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [11] |
The Austin Chronicle | [12] |
Calgary Herald | [13] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [14] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [15] |
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Uncut | [16] |
Vancouver Sun | [10] |
The Chicago Reader stated that Escovedo's "warm, slow-bubbling melodies are given alternately dense, sumptuous, and spare treatments that help the ballads flutter and the rockers rock." [17] Trouser Press praised the duet with Nelson, labeling it "classical-folk balladry." [18] Miami New Times called the album "a grim and sprawling masterpiece that weds his rough-hewn baritone with classic rock and roll riffs and the elegiac ambiance of vintage country weepers." [19] The New York Times considered the album to be the best of Escovedo's first three, writing that it "doesn't try for comfort, but for stoic acceptance." [20]
The Philadelphia Inquirer determined that Escovedo "employs a blunt rock attack softened by the calm, considered observations of a natural poet." [21] Entertainment Weekly opined that the "multi-textured roots-pop ... would be utterly beguiling if it weren’t for his unresonant, plain-as-dough voice." [22] The Calgary Herald declared that "Alejandro is on a roll, arguably the most original voice in America today, a man whose heart and soulful music aches with a sense of being that is a beauty, however bruised, to behold." [13]
AllMusic wrote that, "if With These Hands doesn't break much new ground for him, it shows he's still in full command of his considerable gifts as a musician, and it's an impressive achievement." [11] Reviewing the 2003 reissue, The Austin Chronicle called the album "dense with guests, guitars, and every musical spicing save for mortar and pestle." [12] Uncut thought that "it’s a suitably raucous affair, though the full band tends to swamp Escovedo’s dusky timbre occasionally." [16]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Put You Down" | |
2. | "Slip" | |
3. | "Crooked Frame" | |
4. | "Pissed Off 2AM" | |
5. | "Nickel and a Spoon" | |
6. | "Little Bottles" | |
7. | "Sometimes" | |
8. | "Guilty" | |
9. | "Tired Skin" | |
10. | "With These Hands" | |
11. | "Tugboat" |