Eleven Eleven (Dave Alvin album)

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ReleasedJune 20, 2011 (2011-06-20)
GenreFolk rock, country rock
Length49:35
LabelYep Roc
Eleven Eleven
Studio album by
Dave Alvin
ReleasedJune 20, 2011 (2011-06-20)
GenreFolk rock, country rock
Length49:35
LabelYep Roc
ProducerDave Alvin
Dave Alvin chronology
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women
(2009)		 Eleven Eleven
(2011)		 Common Ground: Dave & Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy
(2014)

Eleven Eleven is the eleventh studio album by folk rock musician Dave Alvin. It was released on June 20, 2011, on Yep Roc Records, and an expanded reissue was released on April 17, 2012.[1]

The recording of Eleven Eleven was influenced by the then-recent deaths of Alvin's friends Chris Gaffney and Amy Farris.[2] The eleven songs on Eleven Eleven were written over the course of seven months, with three exceptions: the three duets on the album, which were "What's Up With Your Brother", "Manzanita", and "Two Lucky Bums".[3] "What's Up With Your Brother" is a duet between Alvin and his brother, Phil Alvin, in which both brothers sing together for the first time on record since the breakup of their legendary band "The Blasters". "Manzanita" is a duet between Alvin and Christy McWilson, a member of his band, the Guilty Women. "Two Lucky Bums" is a duet between Alvin and Chris Gaffney, and represents Gaffney's last recording before he died in 2008.[3] The song "Harlan County Line" was written for the TV show Justified.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[6]
American SongwriterStarStarStarStar[7]
The IndependentStarStarStarStar[8]
Los Angeles TimesStarStarStarHalf star[2]
MojoStarStarStarStar[9]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)A−[10]
PopMatters8/10[11]
Record CollectorStarStarStarStar[12]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarHalf star[13]
UncutStarStarStarStar[14]

Eleven Eleven received mostly favorable reviews from critics.[5] Wayne Robins wrote in American Songwriter that the album's best songs were "character studies or snapshots of history".[7] Many critics described "Johnny Ace is Dead" as one of the best songs on the album,[7][13] with Steve Horowitz of PopMatters calling it "the best damn Johnny Ace song one could ever imagine."[11]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Dave Alvin; except where indicated

  1. "Harlan County Line" – 5:12
  2. "Johnny Ace is Dead" – 4:27
  3. "Black Rose of Texas" – 4:52
  4. "Gary, Indiana 1959" – 4:06
  5. "Run Conejo Run" – 4:52
  6. "No Worries Mija" (Chris Gaffney) – 3:36
  7. "What's Up with Your Brother?" – 4:44 (duet with Phil Alvin)
  8. "Murrietta's Head" – 5:59
  9. "Manzanita" (Christy McWilson) – 4:09 (duet with McWilson)
  10. "Dirty Nightgown" – 5:19
  11. "Two Lucky Bums" – 2:28 (duet with Chris Gaffney)

Bonus tracks on 2012 reissue

  1. "Beautiful City 'Cross the River"
  2. "Signal Hill"
  3. "Never Trust a Woman" (duet with Candye Kane)

Personnel

Production notes

References

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