Chris Gaffney was one of those musicians who should have been better known, but he seemed to be perfectly happy with who and where he was. He recorded four solo albums in the late '80s and early '90s, but they didn't rise above cult status. He resurfaced as a guitarist and accordionist in his best pal Dave Alvin's band, and then formed The Hacienda Brothers with former Paladins guitarist/singer Dave Gonzalez. The Haciendas seemed to finally provide the right vehicle to showcase Gaffney's love for both country and soul music. The band recorded three acclaimed albums, but Gaffney died from liver cancer in April, 2008, just months before the scheduled release of their third record.
Now comes this truly heartfelt tribute album that was organized by Alvin and features a veritable who's who of alt-country and Americana artists, including many of my favorites, performing songs written by Gaffney. Los Lobos weigh in with "Man of Somebody's Dreams," which features a heartbreaking, plaintive vocal from David Hidalgo. The Texas Tornadoes are represented by "The Gardens" (from their 1996 album, "4 Aces"). Alejandro Escovedo offers the Vietnam vet lament, "1968,"and fellow Hacienda hermano Gonzalez serves up "Tired Of Being Me." Then there's the fantastic songwriter Dan Penn, who produced the Haciendas' first two albums and here contributes "I'm So Proud" (not the Curtis Mayfield song of the same name). The wild card on the album is Boz Scaggs, who gives a typically soulful performance on "Midnight Dream." And it ends with Gaffney himself delivering the haunting "Guitars of My Dead Friends."
Proceeds from the record, which was released by Yep Roc, benefit the nonprofit group Hungry For Music, as well as Gaffney's family. (Available on iTunes.)
Thanks Oscar. This is a great project.
Posted by: Joe Escalante | June 02, 2009 at 09:06 AM