DEAN OWENS : EL TIRADITO - THE CURSE OF SINNER'S SHRINE

Disc One (37:30)

1. Mother Road
2. Dolina
3. Ashes & Dust
4. Tombstone Rose
5. Riverline
6. She Was A Raven
7. Even When I'm Gone
8. The End
   Bonus Tracks :
9. La Lomita
10. The Hopeless Ghosts

Disc Two (21:33)

1. El Tiradito
2. A Bullet And A Silver Coin
3. Canyon Without A Name
4. How The West Was Stolen
5. The Rain That Never Lands
6. The Final Ride
7. Weeping Skulls
8. Ride The Hanging Road

Label : Continental Song City

Release Date : May 12, 2023

Review (Bluestown Music) : In 2022 Dean Owens released ‘Sinner’s Shrine‘ in collaboration with Calexico; many of us agreed it was one of the best albums of the year. Now there is ‘El Tiradito’ which roughly translates into ‘Sinner’s Shrine.’ And yes this double cd is in every respect a true sequel to the success album. These tracks were also recorded in Tucson just before the lockdown and long distance with musicians from Calexico. Cd1 comprises eight, newly edited, tracks from the ‘Desert Trilogy’ EPs that did not make it to the album for one reason or another. They might just as well have been, as they are all equally fine specimens of Dean’s storytelling abilities, drenched in the desert noir atmosphere of Calexico. They too prove to be the perfect setting for Dean’s soulful, melancholy vocals. All tracks are Dean Owens originals, Tombstone Rose a co-write with Joey Burns.Most remarkable is She Was A Raven, a more rocking, guitar-driven remake of prize number In The Land Of The Hummingbird. Added to them are two very convincing home demos, proving the sheer strength of La Lomita and the Townes-inspired The Hopeless Ghosts. The fully instrumental CD2 is the captivating soundtrack to an imaginary spaghetti Western inspired by the tragic story behind the ‘Sinners Shrine’ in the barrio viejo of Tuscon and by Dean’s admiration of Ennio Morricone; most tracks feature Dean Owens whistling and he proves that he has thoroughly mastered that fine art. Another prominent role is, naturally, played by Martin Wenk’s trumpet. Frequently there is also a menacing baritone guitar by Naim Amor. Even the famous eerie harmonica pops up here and there. Just close your eyes and allow yourself to ride the wide plains with Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson.

Review (Real Roots Café) : Na de afronding van het erg geslaagde album Sinner’s Shrine uit 2022, dat de Schot Dean Owens opnam samen met leden van de woestijnband Calexico uit Tucson, Arizona, haalden niet alle beschikbare nummers de plaat. Maar zij vinden hier alsnog hun weg naar de liefhebber op schijf 1 van het dubbelalbum El Tiradito (the curse of the sinner’s shrine), en als piekfijne ‘toegift’ The songs from the Desert Trilogy EP’s met acht instrumentale stukken, die eerder afzonderlijk zijn uitgebracht, maar op veler verzoek zijn samengevoegd op schijf 2. Dit onderdeel is een door Owens indrukwekkend gecomponeerde soundtrack à la Ennio Morricone van een denkbeeldige Old Westernfilm, geïnspireerd door het verhaal van een fataal aflopend liefdesdrama, waarvoor in Tucson ooit de gedenkplaats Sinner’s Shrine werd ingericht. Deze plek wordt door toeristen drukbezocht om hun dierbare overleden ‘Sinners and Saints’ te herdenken. Afgaande op de hoge kwaliteit kan het daar niet aangelegen hebben dat acht songs op schijf 1 de status van ‘left over’ kregen toebedeeld. Sterker, de meeste daarvan zijn ietsje mooier nog dan de songs die het album wel haalden: intenser, melancholischer, trager, lomer, dromeriger, losser, relaxter en samen van een gloeiende schoonheid. Maar het allermooiste zijn de twee akoestische thuisdemo’s die als geproduceerde stukken eerder op The Sinner’s Shrine verschenen: diep melancholische en toch vrolijk stemmende heupwiegende chachacha-ritmiek van La Lomita en wonderschone akoestische eenvoud van The Hopeless Ghost. Dean Owens en alle bandleden van Calexico vormen een bijzonder synergetische combinatie. De heerlijk lijzige stem van Owens en de bijzonder sfeerrijke instrumentale opbouw zorgen voor een verrukkelijke luisterervaring. Wie had dit kunnen vermoeden! Owens was een vrij anonieme singer-songwriter, die in 2001 al debuteerde met het album The Droma Tapes en Calexico, met al hun vergaarde succes, was ook wel toe aan een nieuwe creatieve impuls.

Review (American UK) : A chance meeting in Tucson a couple of years ago has led to an embarrassment of riches for Scottish artist Dean Owens. AUK has already related the tale of how Owens and Joey Burns of Calexico met up on a sun-blitzed afternoon, the encounter leading to a most fruitful collaboration on ‘Sinner’s Shrine‘, finally released to great acclaim last year. That album release was delayed due to Covid and in the interim Owens released his ‘Desert Trilogy’, three EP’s which previewed a song each from the album accompanied by others which didn’t make the final cut along with newer collaborations, recorded remotely. ‘El Tiradito’, a two-disc CD set, is the latest result of that encounter to be released. It collects the non-album songs from the trilogy (the limited run of the discs having long sold out) and adds a couple of Owens’ home demos of songs destined to end up on ‘Sinner’s Shrine’ all on disc one. Disc two is the icing on the cake however as Owens and his Tucson buddies offer up what he calls “an instrumental soundtrack for an imaginary western” inspired by the bloody legend of Tucson’s actual sinner’s shrine. Listening to disc one, one wonders how and why several of these songs didn’t make the final cut for ‘Sinner’s Shrine’. ‘Dolina’ and ‘Ashes & Dust’ especially stand out with both of them bristling with the desert noire menace and romance one associates with Calexico when they stride out along their crystal frontier. ‘Mother Road’, inspired by a 93 year old barber who had a shop on Route 66, a road now seldom travelled once the Interstate opened, is quietly majestic in its sepia-stained splendour, the pedal steel almost weeping. An alternate take of ‘She Was A Raven’ is quite unhinged as Jacob Valenzuela’s rip-snorting trumpet trills and Joey Burn’s scathing guitar solo add up to an almighty rumble. Tucked away at the end is, of course, ‘The End’. Here Owens digs into the existential angst of a murderer on his way to the gallows quite brilliantly with the band adding an appropriate mournful accompaniment. The two home demos which complete the disc are quite intriguing as they show Owens building the basic bones of ‘La Lomita’ and ‘The Hopeless Ghosts’ and making a mighty fine fist of it. No wonder Joey Burns was impressed when they arrived in his inbox and they are a fine insight to the birth of these songs. On to disc two and it’s quite the delight. Here Owens indulges in his love of Morricone and spaghetti westerns and gets an opportunity to fully display his whistling skills. It might seem odd to mention such a skill but he is a grand whistler. If you have admired the likes of Bernard Herman’s ‘Twisted Nerve’ – used in several movies, most famously in ‘Kill Bill’, then you’ll appreciate Owens’s pursed lips here. John Convertino’s unmistakable drumming, never overstated, powers the tunes while whiplash guitar from Naim Amor and glorious trumpet from Martin Wenk add the necessary drama. Ranging from the galloping ‘A Bullet And A Silver Coin’ to the miasmatic dread of ‘The Rain That Never Lands’, a tune definitely deserving of a wide-screen delivery, this imaginary soundtrack just begs for someone to make such a movie. If this is the final curtain for Owens’ Tucson episode then he’s certainly going out with a bang.

Review (Rocking Magpie) : Following on from the hugely critically acclaimed “Sinner’s Shrine”, Dean Owens returns with this intriguingly compiled double album “little brother”. Disc 1 collects together the tracks from the three Desert Trilogy EPs released prior to “Sinner’s Shrine” that didn’t make it on to the album – songs that were recorded in person and from long distance due to pandemic times. When first reviewing the EPs, it was clear that they stood as an excellent body of work in their own right – and collecting them here make sense for those unable to get the EPs first time around, or who only came to Dean’s work via “Sinner’s Shrine”. After repeated plays of the songs over a couple of years, they still maintain their power – “She Was a Raven” is an anthemic gem that was unlucky not to make the “Sinner’s Shrine” cut, whereas the home demos offer a good insight as to how the songs evolved and have a rough charm of their own. “Dolina (Sand & Blood)” is one of the EP tracks that I still haven’t heard enough of. Even if you’d already bought all three of the Desert Trilogy EPs, this double release is worth it for the second disc – a full on instrumental album of new songs, very much in the Spaghetti Western style – the press release states that it’s Dean “unleashing his full inner Morricone!” – and it’s not wrong. There’s whistling aplenty (if you’ve seen Dean live, you’ll know that he’s a gifted whistler!) snare drums, horse-riding beat snares, sumptuous twang and distant harmonica, brass and strings. Spread over 8 tracks, these instrumentals work both independently and as a complete suite. It’s the kind of sound that Charley Crockett hints at on “The Man from Waco” but here the production is much more dynamic and vibrant – someone should get on the blower to Mr Crockett methinks…or maybe Dean could be added to his Autumn UK/EU tour – another musical marriage made in heaven? But I digress – of the eight instrumental tracks, the majesty of “Canyon Without a Name” and the thoughtful melancholy of “The Rain That Never Lands” stand out on an early listen, but there’s absolutely not a filler track amongst them. All in all, this is a nicely curated release that offers excellent value and interest to Dean Owen’s growing number of fans – and as well as satiating their musical appetites, it’ll make them eagerly want more.