Review: Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore ‘TexiCali’
By Hal Horowitz
The line between blues and country has typically been blurred and not just because Ray Charles (Modern Sounds in Country Western Music) or Willie Nelson (writer of the blues classic “Night Life”) combined them through their classic work. Look no further than the genre of “country blues” which, by its name alone, speaks to the logical pairing of those two styles of American music.
But it still came as a surprise when blues/Americana rocker Dave Alvin (ex-Blasters) teamed up with folk/country veteran Jimmie Dale Gilmore (The Flatlanders) in 2018 for the appropriately monikered Downey to Lubbock (their home towns) album and subsequent tour. That unlikely partnership succeeded far beyond most expectations.
The duo cherry-picked selected covers that played to both artist’s strengths, swapping vocals as Gilmore’s reedy voice showed a natural inclination for blues, and Alvin’s gruffer slant translated remarkably well to the folk/country format. After an unscheduled pandemic and Alvin’s commitment to his psychedelic folk/blues side-project The Third Mind, the twosome have reunited for another go.
Even though it has been six years since they last recorded together, the similarly titled TexiCali (released June 21), seems like it was captured during the previous set’s sessions. Even the drawn cover art is alike.
Alvin and Gilmore emphasize originals this time, although some have already been previously recorded. Alvin digs into an oozing, grinding boogie for his tribute to Canned Heat’s co-founder Alan Wilson, nicknamed “Blind Owl,” as Gilmore plays harp on this deep John Lee Hooker styled blues. The song, already on a recent Heat set, is rearranged to make it eerier. Likewise, Gilmore digs into his back pages to dust off the opening “Borderland,” a flowing folk rocker recorded for a solo album in 1996 that hasn’t lost any of its melodic magic.
Texas legend Terry Allen and Alvin collaborated on the sad tale of “Death of the Last Stripper,” recorded by Allen in 2020. It gets a makeover with Alvin and Gilmore swapping vocals on one of this album’s most moving moments as they relate the touching tale of the titular woman who had no friends when she passed. Alvin’s tensile lead guitar slices through Blind Willie McTell’s gutsy “Broke Down Engine” as Gilmore sings and the band locks into a tough shuffle on this lost gem.
They dip into country for a rollicking cover of Stonewall Jackson’s “Why I’m Walking” and even take a reggae lilt on Butch Hancock’s moody “Roll Around” featuring a keening vocal from Gilmore. The latter shows a willingness to explore beyond the country and blues that defines this venture. The bittersweet, atmospheric “Down the 285” lets both singers bring their most subtle approaches for a gauzy performance that plays to the duo’s tender tendencies.
Look no further than the title of the closing jaunty shuffle “We’re Still Here” to appreciate how grateful these guys are in their retirement years to create this intoxicating meeting of the minds after traversing their combined travails in life, love and music.
It’s a jubilant musical and lyrical summation of divergent careers that have unexpectedly led to this delightful, often brilliant, collaboration between two talented friends from different ends of the diverse Americana spectrum.
“Borderland”
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