Dave Alvin - King of California 2LP

NEW. SEALED.

Recorded in Los Angeles the day after the historic 1994 Northridge earthquake and produced by Greg Leisz, King of Californiahad its genesis in the album’s title track, a readymade folk ballad, written for his mother, in which an aspiring suitor heads west to make his fortune in the wild, still-young Golden State. “King of Californiais when I decided ‘this is when I let the song tell me what it sounds like,’” says Alvin. “Ever since then, that’s been my rule. It sounds ridiculous, but it was something I had to learn.” Featuring acoustic interpretations of some of the finest songs in his catalog, along with new, folk-inflected compositions, and notable covers, Dave Alvin found the true measure of his own voice with King of California. “It was ironic that for a guy who was known as a loud guitar player and questionable singer, his best seller was an acoustic album,” says Alvin. Included are songs written and originally recorded during the ’80s: “Barn Burning” from American Music(1980) the debut album from The Blasters, “Bus Station” and “Leaving” from the Blasters’ Non Fiction(1983), “Little Honey,” written with X’s John Doe and featured on the Blasters’Hard Line(1985), and “Fourth of July,” which appeared on both X’s See How We Are(1997) and on Alvin’s solo album Romeo’s Escape(1987). “Every Night About This Time” also appeared on the latter album.

25th Anniversary Reissue

Craft Recordings