Podcast No.3 - Spaghetti. September 30th, 2006
This one is a bit more light-hearted than the previous two efforts and it definitely gives you MAXIMUM TWANG! All The Pretty HorsesFrom the first Friends of Dean Martinez album, 'The Shadow of Your Smile'. The friends of the eponymous Mr Martinez at that time included Messrs Burns and Convertino, shortly before they had a bust-up with fellow Friend Bill Elm and started to evolve into Calexico. Nonetheless, this is a great instrumental collection which is still available and shows how long Joey has been playing this traditional lullaby. (His mum must have sung him to sleep with it.) Cable Hogue
No, not the Calexico one - it's a John Cale song from the 1975 release 'Helen of Troy'. Included because it's the only other song I was aware of that takes it title from Sam Peckinpah's fin-de-siecle western. The Ballad of Cable Hogue
This is more like what you were expecting - the version en francais which I believe was put out for the benefit of French radio airplay. Of course features Tucson madame Marianne Dissard. She has the demo version of her forthcoming solo album (co-written with Joey Burns) available on her myspace site . You may want to wait for the full studio version, but I think this demo is well worth the modest asking price. Minas de Cobre - Extend-O-Mix
This was on the 1999 single release of 'The Ride Pt2'. You all know and love it, but this version has more twang than usual! For a Few Dollars More
No discussion of Spaghetti Western Twang is complete without reference to the master, Ennio Morricone. And what could be better than this Terranova remix of one his classics? From the delightful 'Morricone RMX' album, which although now deleted, is still readily available used on Amazon Marketplace and elsewhere. Glowing Heart of the World
Originally on the tour-only 'Road Map' CD, this is a live version from the 2005 Telluride Bluegrass Festival. If you think it reminds you of 'Riders in the Sky', you're not alone - John Peel said the same thing when they played it on his show. Tulsa Telephone Book
Live at Lee's Palace, Toronto, this features Canadian twangmeister Dallas Good of The Sadies, who I believe originally suggested that Calexico cover this old Tom T. Hall song. Empty the Chamber
Which of course leads nicely into this live track by The Sadies, recorded by Calexico archivist Jim Blackwood at Tucson's finest radio station KXCI. Ojitos Traidores
This traditional mariachi song finds Jacob in fine voice at Der Fabrik, Hamburg, in April 2006. And don't forget to check out the Los Super Seven version (with Calexico backing) on the 'Heard it on the X' CD. Apache
Many twangologists would attribute the origins of this musical genre to such luminaries as Dick Dale, Duane Eddy or Link Wray. But, like the hovercraft and the Dyson, it was of course a British invention! So let us all rise, face towards Buckingham Palace and pay tribute to the guitar work of Hank Marvin OBE and The Shadows. God Save The Queen! The soundclips feature the voices of Jason Robards as Cable Hogue, Edward Abbey as himself, and various bits of nonsense picked up from here and there.