Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm

Last updated
Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm
Keep Your Soul Cover.jpg
Studio album by
Various Artists
ReleasedMarch 24, 2009 [1]
Recorded2008 and 2009
Genre Rock, Tex-Mex
Label Vanguard
Producer Bill Bentley
Stephen Brower
David Katznelson
Shawn Sahm

Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm is a 2009 tribute album to the late Doug Sahm, released on Vanguard Records.

Contents

History and critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Austin Chronicle Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [4]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
PopMatters 7/10 [6]

Sahm died of a heart attack, in Taos, New Mexico, on November 18, 1999, twelve days after his 58th birthday. As co-producer Bill Bentley [7] recalls, "Shawn Sahm and I tried to do a tribute album right after Doug Sahm died in 1999, but it was just too soon. Ten years later, we found a partner in Vanguard Records, through David Katznelson, and it all fell together." [8]

The album, described as "a warm evocation of Sahm's spirit and sensibility, how he effortlessly encompassed almost every element of Texan music", was favourably reviewed:

Bookended by Sir Doug's two best-known songs — "She's About a Mover", here performed by Little Willie G., the vocalist for Thee Midniters and Malo, supported by Ry Cooder among others, and "Mendocino," performed by Sahm's son Shawn...(t)he order of the day isn't reinterpretation, it's celebration, and there are many joyful performances here, highlighted by Los Lobos' relaxed, breezy "It Didn't Even Bring Me Down", Delbert McClinton's easy-rolling "Texas Me", Jimmie Vaughan's glorious slow crawl through "Why, Why, Why" (and) Joe "King" Carrasco's rollicking "Adios Mexico" supported by the Texas Tornados... [2]

According to another reviewer,

...it would be difficult to imagine a more deserving candidate (for a tribute album) than Doug Sahm. ...Sahm’s vision, which coupled the tangled roots of rock ‘n’ roll with the rhythms and spirit of Tex-Mex, is both broad enough to facilitate the tributes of a diverse range of artists, and specific enough to make it all hang together. ...As a tribute album, this set does the intended work of sending us back to the original recordings with fresh ears—and that may well be the best possible measure of its success. [6]

Track listing

  1. She's About a Mover - Little Willie G.
  2. It Didn't Even Bring Me Down - Los Lobos
  3. Too Little Too Late - Alejandro Escovedo
  4. You Was For Real - Greg Dulli
  5. Dynamite Woman - Dave Alvin
  6. Ta Bueno Compadre (It's OK Friend) - Flaco Jiménez with the West Side Horns
  7. Texas Me - Delbert McClinton
  8. I'm Not That Kat Anymore - Terry Allen
  9. Why, Why, Why - Jimmie Vaughan
  10. You're Doin' It Too Hard - Charlie Sexton & the Mystic Knights of the Sea
  11. Nuevo Laredo - The Gourds
  12. Be Real - Freda & the Firedogs
  13. Adios Mexico - Joe "King" Carrasco & Texas Tornados
  14. Mendocino - Shawn Sahm
  15. I Wanna Be Your Mama Again Sarah Borges and The Broken Singles [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Lobos</span> American Chicano rock band

Los Lobos is a Mexican-American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños. The band rose to international stardom in 1987, when their version of "La Bamba" peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and several other countries. Songs by Los Lobos have been recorded by Elvis Costello, Waylon Jennings, Frankie Yankovic, and Robert Plant. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2018, they were inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. They are also known for performing the theme song for Handy Manny. As of 2024, they have been nominated for twelve Grammy Awards and have won four.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Sahm</span> American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (1941–1999)

Douglas Wayne Sahm was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from San Antonio, Texas. He is regarded as a key Tex-Mex music and Texan Music performer. San Antonio's conjunto and blues and later the hippie scene of San Francisco helped create his blend of music, with which he found success performing in 1970s Austin, Texas.

Los Super Seven is an American supergroup which debuted in 1998. According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Los Super Seven isn't a band, per se – it's a collective, organized by manager Dan Goodman, who comes up with a concept for each of the group's albums and assembles a band to fit." The collective has released three albums to date, with wildly varying personnel. Only Ruben Ramos and Rick Trevino are featured on all three releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Douglas Quintet</span> American rock band

The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their home state. When their career was established, the band relocated to the West Coast. Their move coincided with the burgeoning San Francisco psychedelic rock scene of the mid 1960s to early 1970s. Overall, the quintet were exponents of good-times music with strong roots in blues and Texas-regional traditions. The band's songs were most noted for the instantly distinguishable organ sound of Augie Meyers' Vox Continental.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandro Escovedo</span> American musician

Pedro Alejandro Escovedo is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk rock, roots rock and alternative country, and is most closely associated with the music scene in Austin, Texas but also San Francisco and New York. He comes from a family of musicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Buck (musician)</span> American drummer (born 1952)

Mike Buck is an American, Austin, Texas-based drummer, and co-owner of Antone's Record Shop located in downtown Austin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gruene Hall</span> United States historic place

Gruene Hall, built in 1878 by Henry (Heinrich) D. Gruene and located in the historical town of Gruene, Texas, bills itself as "the oldest continually run dance hall in Texas". By design, not much has physically changed since the hall was first built. The 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) dance hall with a high-pitched tin roof still has the original layout with side flaps for open-air dancing, a bar in the front, a small lighted stage in the back, and a huge outdoor garden. Advertisement signs from the 1930s and 1940s still hang in the old hall and around the stage.

Texas Tornados is an American Tejano supergroup, composed of some of country music's biggest artists who modernized the Tex-Mex style including Flaco Jiménez, Augie Meyers, Doug Sahm, and Freddy Fender. Its music is a fusion of conjunto with rock, country, and various Mexican styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augie Meyers</span> American musician

August "Augie" Meyers is an American musician, songwriter, studio musician, record producer, and record label owner. He is perhaps best known as a founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.

<i>Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson</i> 1990 tribute album to Roky Erickson

Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye is a 1990 tribute album to singer-songwriter Roky Erickson, founder of the 13th Floor Elevators and solo artist, whose career was subject to significant periods of challenge from schizophrenia. The album was released by Sire Records in the United States, and by WEA International in Europe. The album was produced by Bill Bentley, who also produced a 1999 tribute album to Moby Grape co-founder Skip Spence, who, like Erickson, was subject to the challenges of schizophrenia. The album's title is said to be Erickson's definition of psychedelic music.

Bill Bentley is an American music industry executive, particularly notable for having produced tribute albums of the music of significant cult artists Roky Erickson (1990), Skip Spence (1999), Doug Sahm (2009) and Lou Reed, in addition to other recording projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shandon Sahm</span> American drummer (born 1969)

Shandon Sahm is an American drummer, who is a native of San Antonio, Texas and is best known for his two stints as the drummer of the Meat Puppets, from 1999–2002 and 2009–2018.

<i>Texas Rock for Country Rollers</i> 1976 studio album by Doug Sahm

Texas Rock for Country Rollers is the third album by American country-music singer Doug Sahm. Sahm composed for the album seven original songs, while covers constituted the rest of the album. It was released by ABC-Dot in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Sahm discography</span>

The discography of Doug Sahm started in 1955 with the release of "A Real American Joe" on Sarg Records. Sahm fronted three bands early in his career: The Pharaohs, The Dell-Kings and The Markays. He released the song "Crazy Daisy" (1959), and he had a local hit in San Antonio, Texas with "Why Why Why" (1960) on Renner Records. Sahm had another local hit with "Crazy, Crazy Feeling" (1961). After he disbanded the Sir Douglas Quintet in 1972, he was signed by Atlantic Records in October 1972, and he released his solo debut album Doug Sahm and Band.

<i>Doug Sahm and Band</i> 1973 studio album by Doug Sahm

Doug Sahm and Band is the debut solo album of American singer-songwriter Doug Sahm. In 1972, after leaving the Sir Douglas Quintet, Sahm moved to Austin, Texas. He was signed by Jerry Wexler to the newly opened country music division of Atlantic Records, and started the album sessions by October 1972. It featured appearances by Bob Dylan, Dr. John, David "Fathead" Newman, Flaco Jimenez, David Bromberg and Kenny Kosek.

<i>Texas Tornado</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Doug Sahm

Texas Tornado is the second solo album by Doug Sahm, released by Atlantic Records in December 1973. Sahm co-produced the album with Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin. Wexler signed Sahm to Atlantic records after the opening of the label's country music division.

<i>Hell of a Spell</i> 1980 studio album by Doug Sahm

Hell of a Spell is an album by singer-songwriter Doug Sahm released by Takoma Records in January 1980. Sahm was signed to the label in 1979 after it was acquired by Chrysalis Records the same year. Upon request of the president of Takoma, Sahm recorded blues numbers and he dedicated the record to Guitar Slim. While the album was well received by the critics, it was a commercial failure.

<i>Get a Life</i> (Doug Sahm album) 1998 studio album by Doug Sahm

Get a Life is a 1998 album by Doug Sahm released by the Dutch label Munich Records. The tracks were recorded in Austin and San Marcos, Texas, Seattle, Washington and Los Angeles, California. The producers of the tracks included Sahm, Mike Stewart, Billy Stull and Bob Flick. Sahm wrote the liner notes for the album. The recordings featured The Gourds, as well as Augie Meyers. Sahm met The Gourds as he performed at a music festival in Belgium in 1997. Sahm approached the band after he heard them sing a cover of his original "At the Crossroads".

<i>The Return of Wayne Douglas</i> Album by Doug Sahm

The Return of Wayne Douglas is the last studio album recorded by Doug Sahm. It was released by his own label, Tornado Records.

<i>Border Wave</i> 1981 studio album by Sir Douglas Quintet

Border Wave is an album by the American band the Sir Douglas Quintet, released in 1981. Doug Sahm was inspired to record the album after the success of Joe Carrasco and Elvis Costello. It was Sahm's second album for Takoma Records. Border Wave peaked at No. 184 on the Billboard 200. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

References

  1. Vanguard Records Keep Your Soul Release Page; www.vanguardrecords.com.
  2. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Various Artists - Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm". AllMusic . Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  3. Moser, Margaret (2009-04-17). "Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  4. Pastorek, Whitney; Spier, Ben (2009-04-07). "Extended Play: The Hold Steady, Doug Sahm Tribute, Jason Aldean". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  5. Lewis, Randy (2009-03-25). "'Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm' and 'Man of Somebody's Dreams: A Tribute to Chris Gaffney'". Los Angeles Times . ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  6. 1 2 Child, Ben (2009-04-01). "Various Artists: Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm". PopMatters . Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  7. Bentley, then an executive with Warner Bros. Records, had acted as executive producer of two Texas Tornados albums, featuring Sahm, in the years prior to Sahm's death: 4 Aces (1996) and Little Bit Is Better Than Nada Mixes (1997). Following Sahm's death, Bentley was the executive producer of The Return of Wayne Douglas (2000), completed prior to Sahm's death and released posthumously. Bentley was also the producer of the Doug Sahm compilation, Genuine Texas Groover: Complete Atlantic Recordings (2004).
  8. Peter Hund, Review of Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm, plus related interviews; www.goodnewmusic.com.
  9. Additional track added when record purchased through Amazon.com; see Keep Your Soul track listing; www.amazon.com, referenced for informational purposes only.