This is not the new Tom Russell CD! Tom Russell wants that made very clear. He's working on the new one, and expects to have it ready in a few months, but this isn't it! This is a collection of recordings, taken from a vast horde of recordings, that was put together by one of Tom Russell's fans. The proceeds from its sale will go towards maintaining the Tom Russell web-site and towards the cost of newsletter and postcard mailings. So Museum of Memories: 1972-2002 is pretty much exactly what it claims to be. It's an 80 minute long, gallery tour of the work of one of the best dang songwriters working today!
Russell has written songs with and for Sylvia Tyson, Ian Tyson, Dave Alvin, among others. Some of those songs appear on this disc. "Strung Out (Like the Tightest Wire on a Frozen Barbed Wire Fence)" was recorded as a single in '72 by Russell's early band Mule Train. He says it "owes a little to Commander Cody's style, and to my working six sets a night in a topless bar on skid row." Hmmm. Music like this led to the whole alt/country genre! Yeehaw! 1974's "Shipwreck Kelly" is from a demo by Russell and his then partner Patricia Hardin. The liner notes tell us that Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly was a flagpole sitter in the 1920s. My dad did that one note after too many beers! The next tune is from '81. Russell was opening for Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. Russell had picked Hunter up in the cab he was driving. At 4 a.m. he sang one of his songs for him, and was hired as the opening act! All these songs are like short stories, told by a participant in the action. They are immediate, real and honest.
As we stroll through the years Russell tells the story of "La Galue (the Glutton)" the Moulin Rouge dancer from one of Toulouse-Lautrec's paintings. It features authentic Parisian accordion. "Shut Out the Light" is a Springsteen cover from '86. Russell plays the Boss, with a lighter touch, more accordion. "Can't Keep No Liquor" describes the home life of an alcoholic, Russell says it "sounds like and attempt to write like John Prine". Maybe, but it's a true song, and one deserving of a hearing. "Chinatown in the Rain" is a recitation in Russell's gruff voice, read over top of some quiet electric guitar, of what could be a missing chapter from a B.Traven novel. "Mineral Wells" is a tune from '89, that Russell tried to turn into a screenplay with Sylvia Tyson. I wouldn't mind seeing a movie like this. He is influenced by film noire, and this influence continues throughout his work. The images are so clear and distinctive you can see it unfolding in your mind. This kind of cinematic imagery is present in many of Russell's lyrics. Think of All the Pretty Horses, with an edge, in black and white, with a score by Bernard Hermann and you'll have a sense of how these songs go.
Other co-writers whose songs are found on this collection include Alan Rhody ("10 Cent Lemonade"), Katy Moffatt ("Amelia's Railroad Flat" and more), Greg Trooper ("The Heart"), and Bobby Neuwirth ("Biggest Bordertown"), but whoever his conspirators might be they allow Tom Russell to be himself. It is his personality that fills out this anthology. In concert Russell and ace guitar picker Andrew Hardin present their songs in a stripped down, unplugged format, but on record they add rhythm instruments and the accordian (and concertina) adds an evocative edge to the imagery. The album concludes with a live recording from 2002, "The Dogs Bark But The Caravan Moves On" (okay...there's another bonus track too...I thought I'd surprise you). Russell's liner notes say this: "A new song. I believe I heard Truman Capote use this old Moroccan saying. This is from a show this year in Denver. I thought I'd put this on the next album, but it's become a one-trick pony. The coyote-ugly lines don't grow on me. Feel free to use the line the next time your relationship goes south." This is how a song-writer edits his work. He plays a song, and if he tires of it too soon...he dumps it. Fortunately for us...we've been able to sift through the Tom Russell waste basket.
This is not the new Tom Russell album. It's a fund raiser for the web-site. It's packaged in a stiff cardboard folder, with postcards and a newsletter. It's like a souvenir from a friend. Many thanks to the compilers Ed Becker and John Yuelkenbeck for putting it all together. I was fortunate enough to grab the last copy at the Tom Russell concert in Port Dover last week, but you can still get yours by going to the website...I recommend you do so quickly. Museum of Memories: 1972-2002 is a limited edition, and it's going fast!
