Dave Alvin – Far Away

I pulled up Dave Alvin’s debut album Romeo’s Escape released in 1987 and heard this song among many of the others. This one I liked right away. He had some great musicians on here including Al Kooper on keyboards. This guy seems to be everywhere in every decade.

After CB recommended The Blasters I’ve followed him around and he pops up everywhere with different bands and performers. The man is a great guitar player needless to say, but his vocals and songwriting are almost equal to it. 

Dave Alvin launched his solo career with this record with a blend of roots rock, rockabilly, country, and blues influences. While his brother continued to handle lead vocals for The Blasters, Dave stepped into the spotlight, taking on all vocal duties for the first time. The album was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and Mark Linett.

This album is pure Americana which fits me perfectly. I started looking at his discography and he has played with so many artists. Artists like The Blasters, X, Los Lobos, Tom Waits, The Knitters, The Pleasure Barons, Gene Taylor, and The Third Man Blind…not even mention the albums he did with his brother. 

Although Dave Alvin never achieved massive commercial success, he has cultivated a following and is highly respected in the music world. In 2000, he earned a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album with Public Domain: Songs from the Wild Land.

A few weeks ago I posted Justified the tv show. Here is Dave Alvin & The Guilty Ones doing Harlan County Line from the show. 

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

34 thoughts on “Dave Alvin – Far Away”

    1. That reminds me…I need to post something on Los Lobos that isn’t a hit or a well known song. They are another band that spreads out and you hear them popping up everywhere in other artists works.

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      1. Not that you asked, but many of my favorites are on “By the Light of the Moon”. I think “One Time One Night” and “Is This All There is?” are rock literature – songs that go deep, tell a story, and evoke a mood.

        Or you could go back to their very first release in 1978 “Just Another Band from East LA” (not to be confused with the later compilation album with the same title) or “La Pistola y el Corazón”, released after “La Bamba”. Both are entirely in Spanish. Definitely not what you’d consider hits.

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      2. Well…I sort of did…I was going to anyway… there was also an album you recommended before and I was about to search…I had it bookmarked and I’m looking.
        I like debut albums…so I want to check that out

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  7. Love this man and his music. Love pretty much everything I’ve heard that he’s been connected with, but my very favorite album of his is King Of California.

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  8. Obviously I picked this up when it was first released. His brother Phil released his first around the same time. You really got a feel of where the Blasters music came from. Influences all over the musical map. Speaking my lingo with this stuff Max.

    (Stealing my thunder again. I almost posted a live cut from the same show you featured. It’s in the bag so I’ll pull the trigger in the next while)

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    1. Hey we are on the same wavelength…I’m just 40 years late.
      I like this album a lot CB… I like debut albums …they tell you a lot about the artist…I need to check Phil’s album out. When you reccomended the Blasters…that took me everywhere.

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      1. Wholly shit, 40 yrs. Maybe I should look in a mirror and grow up a little. Dave and Phil are carrying on the legacy of all the music that has ever oozed out of every, bar, roadhouse, back porch, campfire and anyplace where people where telling stories. ‘Un Sung Stories’ by Phil is a gem

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      2. Yep! It’s been a long time and I wish I didn’t miss these guys back then but I’m making up for it.
        I sure will check that out. I’ve never check his solo stuff out before…just when they worked together.

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      4. You know…that would work with those two different genres… I can imagine some of the Texas lyrics with the California music being pretty cool as well.

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