When you have a large music collection it is easy to forget for a while how much you like some records. It is not that necessarily that you get bored with them but that new or different music captures your imagination for a while. That is had happened with this record.I had not played The Criminal Under My Own Hat for a while. A few months back, standing in front of the wall of CDs one morning before work it seemed to jump out at me. It then went on high rotation for a couple of weeks.
Most people these days know T-Bone through his work as a producer, whether of soundtracks or named artists like Robert Plant. However my intrduction to his work came frim the early 80s and his recordings with Elvis Costello and Los Lobos.
I started to pick up a few of his solo albums but this is the pick of the crop. Shit it's a good album.
Sure you have to get used to T-Bone's nasal voice, but the songs, playing and production are just outstanding.
The first copy I had of this was a sale cassette (I only ever bought cassettes when they were on sale) and it took some hunting to track down a copy on CD. It starts strongly with the poppy Over You and the beat masks the sadness of the final chorus line "I'm gonna take a long time gettin' over you, over you".
This is followed by one of my favourite songs on the album Tear This Building Down with is driving Bo Diddly rhythm and a terrific guitar solo from Marc Ribot who had first really been noticed on Tom Waits' Rain Dogs album. The quality does not let up with the Euro flavoured It's Not Too Late which has some beautiful violin in it which really underscores the feel of the song.
Humans From Earth was used in a Nike ad about five years after it was released. Later he presents us with two versions of I Can Explain Everything. the lovely Any Time At All.
All good stuff and highly recommended.
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