West Of The West

For West of the West, Dave Alvin paid tribute to his personal canon of California songwriters, both known and unknown. California’s history has shaped Alvin’s work since the start of his career. Since so much of the state’s culture is hidden (or rather, obscured by stereotypes), Alvin does a great service by highlighting fairly unknown songwriters like Jim Ringer (“Tramps and Hawkers”), John Stewart (“California Bloodlines”), and Blackie Farrell (“Sonora’s Death Row”). He also repositions Tom Waits, John Fogerty, and Merle Haggard, songwriters who aren't often identified as Californians but whose work is deeply tied to local traditions and landscapes. There's an air of fellowship to this album; Alvin plays the songs as a brother of the people who wrote them, not because he puts himself in their class of talent but because he shares with them an origin story. Even as he gently reforms songs by giants like Jackson Browne, Jerry Garcia, and Brian Wilson, the most personal rendition is of “I Am Bewildered,” written by unsung Los Angeles R&B performer Richard Berry, who was Alvin’s first musical idol.