DOUG SAHM HOOT
3-star review written by Margaret Moser, which appeared in the Friday, April 14, 2000 edition of The Austin Chronicle
"We're here to honor our good friend Doug Sahm tonight," Alvin Crow greeted the audience stuffed into the Hole in the Wall February 10. The funeral was over, but the tributes to Sahm had just started, God love them all. And God love theDoug Sahm Hoot album, recorded in imperfect glory that night. It sways and soars with the spirit of Sahm: Shandon Sahm, the Nortons, Alvin Crow, Good, Texas Mavericks, Joe King Carrasco, Damnations TX, and the Gourds all deliver with a fevered passion that is occasionally clumsy but always heartfelt. Sometimes the sound of family resemblance is uncanny; on "She's About a Mover," Shandon Sahm's voice is as wistfully hoarse as his Dad's when Doug had been singing all night. That's the thing about Sahm's music. It was never intended to be analyzed or scrutinized, only to be heard, sung, and danced to especially after a couple of beers. Amidst the love and affection for the man who should be the State Musician of Texas, Doug Sahm celebrated his beloved Lone Star state but what he truly celebrated was life, and that's what this album is filled with. The Nortons bookend the album with dreamy instrumental versions of "Mendocino" and "Texas Me," while Good chooses the rarer "Juan Mendoza" and "Tortilla Flats." The Texas Mavericks (Freddy Krc, John X Reed, Speedy Sparks) shine with Crow, Shandon Sahm, and Joe King Carrasco on "Mover," "Adios Mexico," and "Is Anybody Going to San Antone?" When Amy Boone and Deborah Kelly polish off "So Glad for Your Sake (So Sorry for Mine)" the music really starts to sparkle. The star tune of this blessed little tribute is "Crossroads" by the Gourds, and if a better bar band than the Gourds exists in Austin I'll quit the Chronicle and apply for Michael Corcoran's job at the Statesman. Kevin Russell and Jimmy Smith's beatific voices blend with a boozy, cosmic beauty, and the lyrics take on a shimmering poignancy that resounds long after the music stops: "You can teach me lots of lessons, you can bring me lots of gold, but you just can't live in Texas if you don't gotta lotta soul." There's a big throbbing empty place in the heart of Austin music where Sahm once was, and this sincere effort soothes it a little. Damnit, we miss you, Doug.
Bands and Tracks :
1.The Nortons, Mendocino
2.Texas Mavericks with Alvin Crow, Revolutionary Ways
3.Texas Mavericks with Alvin Crow, Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone
4.Texas Mavericks with Joe King Carrasco, Adios Mexico
5.Texas Mavericks with Shandon Sahm, She's About a Mover
6.Texas Mavericks ith Alvin Crow, Joe King Carrasco, and Shandon Sahm, Dynamite Woman
7.good, Catch the Man on the Rise
8.good, Give Back the Key to My Heart
9.good, Tortilla Flats
10.good, Juan Mendoza
11.Damnations, TX, I Don't Want
12.Damnations, TX, So Glad for Your Sake (So Sorry for Mine)
13.Damnations, TX, Lawd, I'm Just a Country Boy (in this Great Big Freaky City)
14.the Gourds, Amsterdam
15.the Gourds, Crossroads
16.the Gourds, Texas Me
17.the Gourds, Nuevo Laredo
18.The Nortons, Texas Me
2000 - Doug Sahm Hoot, recorded live at the Hole in the Wall
This is an 18 song, live performance compilation recorded at the Doug Sahm Hoot Night at the Hole in the Wall, Austin, Texas, on February 10, 2000. It includes performances of Sahm tunes by the Nortons, Texas Mavericks with Alvin Crow, Shandon Sahm, and Joe King Carrasco, plus good, Damnations TX, and the Gourds. The first pressing has errors on 2 tracks (including one by the Gourds) which are corrected on the second pressing. You can distinguish the two by looking at the inscription on the underside (music side) of the CD. The second (corrected) pressing has the following line etched into the blank area around the spindle hole: "5/9/00, CC#5133 CRYSTAL CLEAR SOUND-DOUG SAHM HOOT II"