| With These Hands | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Studio | The Hit Shack, Austin, Texas | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Rykodisc [1] | |||
| Producer | T.S. Bruton | |||
| Alejandro Escovedo chronology | ||||
| ||||
With These Hands is the third album by the American roots rock musician Alejandro Escovedo, released in 1996. [2] [3] It was his only solo album for Rykodisc. [4]
The album was produced by T.S. Bruton. [5] "Tugboat" is a tribute to Sterling Morrison; Escovedo knew him from their days working at the University of Texas. [6] Willie Nelson duets with Escovedo on "Nickel and a Spoon". [7] The title track includes contributions from several Escovedos, including Alejandro's brother Pete and niece Sheila E. [8] Jennifer Warnes sang backing vocals on "Pissed Off 2AM". [9] Charlie Sexton also contributed to With These Hands. [10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [12] |
| Calgary Herald |  [13] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [14] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [15] |
| (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
| Uncut | [16] |
| Vancouver Sun | [10] |
The Chicago Reader stated that Escovedo's "warm, slow-bubbling melodies are given alternately dense, sumptuous, and spare treatments that help the ballads flutter and the rockers rock." [17] Trouser Press praised the duet with Nelson, labeling it "classical-folk balladry." [18] Miami New Times called the album "a grim and sprawling masterpiece that weds his rough-hewn baritone with classic rock and roll riffs and the elegiac ambiance of vintage country weepers." [19] The New York Times considered the album to be the best of Escovedo's first three, writing that it "doesn't try for comfort, but for stoic acceptance." [20]
The Philadelphia Inquirer determined that Escovedo "employs a blunt rock attack softened by the calm, considered observations of a natural poet." [21] Entertainment Weekly opined that the "multi-textured roots-pop ... would be utterly beguiling if it weren’t for his unresonant, plain-as-dough voice." [22] The Calgary Herald declared that "Alejandro is on a roll, arguably the most original voice in America today, a man whose heart and soulful music aches with a sense of being that is a beauty, however bruised, to behold." [13]
AllMusic wrote that, "if With These Hands doesn't break much new ground for him, it shows he's still in full command of his considerable gifts as a musician, and it's an impressive achievement." [11] Reviewing the 2003 reissue, The Austin Chronicle called the album "dense with guests, guitars, and every musical spicing save for mortar and pestle." [12] Uncut thought that "it’s a suitably raucous affair, though the full band tends to swamp Escovedo’s dusky timbre occasionally." [16]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Put You Down" | |
| 2. | "Slip" | |
| 3. | "Crooked Frame" | |
| 4. | "Pissed Off 2AM" | |
| 5. | "Nickel and a Spoon" | |
| 6. | "Little Bottles" | |
| 7. | "Sometimes" | |
| 8. | "Guilty" | |
| 9. | "Tired Skin" | |
| 10. | "With These Hands" | |
| 11. | "Tugboat" |