# Music by Genre > Rock, Folk Rock, Roots Rock, Rockabilly >  Chris Gaffney Tribute Album

## Alex Orr

Here's the link to buy it at Lala, but it's also available at Amazon, etc...

http://www.lala.com/#album/2017894108073973214

Gaffney was a Texas-via-California musician/songwriter who died of liver cancer in 2007.  I first heard of him through my buddy Eamon.  Eamon is sort've a walking jukebox of tunes who I've been sitting around playing music with for years.  Occassionally he's played a few Gaffney tunes and expressed shock and disapproval every time I've told him I'm unfamilar with Gaffney's stuff.  Eamon's brother Tom was an Austin-area musician for many years and both knew and occassionally jammed with Chris, as well as some of those dudes like Dave Alvin, Joe Ely, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.  Best as I can tell, that reflects the way Gaffney's career seemed to be - his biggest fans were fellow songwriters and musicians, and if you heard of him, it was because someone in the know tipped you off about the guy.  Having a bunch of your stuff in and out of print doesn't really help spead your music around either.

In any event, they loved him down there in Austin and Dave Alvin (a legend himself) helped put this tribute album together while Chris was still holding on in the hospital.  I've played a couple of these tunes with Eamon and some buddies at informal jams, but for me, this is basically my introduction to Gaffney's music, and I'm fully in agreement with all of the praise.  Gaffney's songs are first-rate.  Alternately witty and heartbreaking, they have that eye for detail and narrative, as well as keen emotional observation and a terrific command of words that seems to just be something that comes so easily to a number of Texas songwriters.  I'm unfamilar with the originals, but the covers on here (from the likes, of Dave Alvin, Calexico, Joe Ely, and Alejandro Escovedo) stay firmly in that West Texas blend of honky-tonk, southwest texicano, country, rock, and cajun. 

The ony real clunker on here seems to be the Iguanas cover of "Get Off My Back Lucy."  Some of the standout cuts on here, especially "The Gardens", "Glass House", "1968", "Artesia", and "Guitars of My Dead Friends"  are just jaw-droppingly good...with the latter three being among the best things I've heard this year.  "Artesia" in particular is just amazing, a southwest-drenched anthemic rocker about lost youth and dissapeared hometowns.  "1968" (perfectly done by Alejandro Escovedo) is as sad a song as you'll ever hear.  From what I've read, Gaffney recorded the version of "Guitars of My Dead Friends" while he himself was on death's door, making it the last recording he made.  Given the content of the song, it makes for a very touching farewell from Gaffney to all his friends, both living and gone.

There ain't much mando on here (although there is some, including some nice playing on "1968") but if you're a fan of any of the acts I've mentioned, or just roots-rock stuff in general then you really should give it a listen.  This album is full of first-rate musicians paying loving tribute to someone who meant a lot to them and it shows throughout the record.

----------

