I was listening to this band Cheap Girls yesterday and they were sounding incredibly familiar, but I couldn't quite place it, so I googled the album to see what reviewers had compared it to. Smoking Popes was an obvious one, but that wasn't really it. They mentioned The Lemonheads and a bunch of '90s power pop bands that just seemed like lazy comparisons, but then it hit me: Alejandro Escovedo! Dead ringers. "Kind Of On Purpose," the first song on the Cheap Girls' album, even opens with the line, "Gravity, it doesn't like me." Alejandro Escovedo's first album? "Gravity." And the song is called "Kind Of On Purpose." And they sound just like him. Hmmm...
Alejandro Escovedo is one of those people who I've never understood why they aren't huge. He's been around forever, tons of musicians list him as a major influence, famous family (Sheila E? That's E for Escovedo), a voice that's deep and knowing with a touch of a rasp, and most importantly, oodles of fantastic songs. Angry rockers and heart-rending ballads, all tinged with country and wisdom. He was even on Bloodshot Records with Old 97's and Ryan Adams before they blew up, so it's not like he was hanging out in oblivion. Huge or just hugely influential though not widely known, the songs remain the same. Same old reliable amazing.
So here you are, the aforementioned Cheap Girls song that I will never be convinced isn't their tribute to Alejandro, three of my favorite AE songs, and a cover by Jon Langford & Sally Timms from Por Vida, a 2 disc tribute featuring an impressive collection of musicians made to raise money to help him fight Hepatitis C (now healed).
Cheap Girls' Kind Of On Purpose
Alejandro Escovedo's Crooked Frame
Alejandro Escovedo's I Was Drunk
Alejandro Escovedo's Follow You Down
Jon Langford & Sally Timms' Broken Bottle
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