With These Hands (Alejandro Escovedo album)

With These Hands
Studio album by
Alejandro Escovedo
Released1996
StudioThe Hit Shack, Austin, Texas
GenreRock
LabelRykodisc[1]
ProducerT.S. Bruton
Alejandro Escovedo chronology
Thirteen Years
(1993) 		With These Hands
(1996) 		More Miles Than Money: Live 1994–96
(1998)

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]

Production

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
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" 

References

  1. ^ Koster, Rick (May 8, 2000). Texas Music. Macmillan.
  2. ^ "Alejandro Escovedo Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ "Alejandro Escovedo". The New Yorker.
  4. ^ a b (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. pp. 282–283.
  5. ^ Morris, Chris (Feb 10, 1996). "Rykodisc's Escovedo rocks out". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 6. p. 15.
  6. ^ "The Flying Nun". SF Weekly. May 1, 1996.
  7. ^ Wolff, Kurt (January 4, 2000). Country Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides.
  8. ^ Armstrong, Gene. "A Family Affair". Tucson Weekly.
  9. ^ McLeese, Don (15 Feb 1996). "3 songwriters, 1 attitude; Salas-Humara, Hall and Escovedo pursue solo projects as they regroup for second Setters album". Austin American-Statesman. p. 5.
  10. ^ a b Monk, Katherine (4 Apr 1996). "Just let yourself go with Alejandro Escovedo – you will never regret it". Vancouver Sun. p. D10.
  11. ^ a b "With These Hands". AllMusic.
  12. ^ a b "Alejandro Escovedo: With These Hands Album Review". The Austin Chronicle.
  13. ^ a b Muretich, James (31 Mar 1996). "New Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C2.
  14. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 309.
  15. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 394.
  16. ^ a b "Alejandro Escovedo – With These Hands". Uncut. February 1, 2004.
  17. ^ Margasak, Peter (June 20, 1996). "Alejandro Escovedo/Cheri Knight". Chicago Reader.
  18. ^ "Alejandro Escovedo". Trouser Press. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Rotations". Miami New Times.
  20. ^ Pareles, Jon (9 Apr 1996). "Choosing the Solo Alternative". The New York Times. p. C13.
  21. ^ Moon, Tom (17 Mar 1996). "Celebrating Dual Heritage with Culture-Mixing Music". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F1.
  22. ^ "With These Hands". Entertainment Weekly.