Hi Friends,
2008 has been quite a year and I have had so many good things come my way I can only be grateful. The year has had its ups and downs, that’s for sure. On the down side, my European tour came to a crashing halt and was canceled unexpectedly. It left me very disappointed and a little depressed. I also had a death in the family, which was very difficult and heart breaking.
On the upside after much hard work and a long time in the studio in 2007, I recorded
Let it Go, my new album and released it in April this year. I was able to ask some of my most favorite musicians in the world to play on it. Guys like
Marc Ribot and
Kenny Wollesen who have played with everyone from
Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, & Sam Phillips, to
Norah Jones, Rufus Wainright, & Rickie Lee Jones. The album received a staggering amount of good reviews and I did a bunch of interviews for features in a bunch of major magazines, which was all very exciting. My music video for the single
Its For You made the top 10 on
MTV’s LOGO channel. The video also got picked up by
MTV, VH1, LOGO & SPIKE TV among others for regular rotation.
USA Today picked the album in their
Top 10 Picks and I was asked to do a live performance for my album release at
The Living Room here in New York City that was broadcast live on
Serious Satellite Radio.
Let It Go has passed
The Howl Sessions in sales and has only been out for 9 months as of this writing.
The Howl Sessions has been out since 2005! All I can say is I am very proud of this album and am thankful to all of you and the press for such a positive reception.
To wrap it all up I have some nice year-end news! Both
The Howl Sessions and my new album
Let It Go made the top 200 best sellers in the Folk-Alternative category at
CDBaby (my distributor). That’s quite an accomplishment!
And finally, what better way to end the year than another great review. This one comes from Italy in a magazine called
Il Popolo del Blues.
Thanks everyone and see you out there! Keep checking back for tour dates!
-Steven
After the critically acclaimed The Howl Sessions, Steven Alvarado comes back with a new album titled Let It Go, that features ten tracks where he sings about himself and his personal experiences. Marc Ribot appears as special guest in all tracks.
1 Get This Far
2 It's For You
3 Nobody Knows
4 Burning Bridges
5 New York
6 Blue
7 Gone, Gone, Gone
8 See You Again
9 It's Alright
10 Reasons
Steven Alvarado si è segnalato negl’ultimi anni come un onesto cantautore con buoni numeri che gli hanno permesso di togliersi qualche soddisfazione come nel caso del bel disco inciso nel 2005, The Howl Sessions. Oggi ci riprova, alzando la posta, con Let It Go disco che raccoglie dieci nuovi brani incisi con una band eccellente nella quale spiccano Marc Ribot alla chitarra, Kenny Wollesen alla batteria, Rob Burger al piano e Joe Quigley al basso. Lo stile rispetto al passato ha perso quella riflessività che lo contraddistingueva ma non la capacità di toccare le corde del cuore dell’ascoltatore, il songwriting ora è più maturo e sembra strizzare l’occhio ora a John Mellencamp ora a Springsteen, senza dimenticare il suo nume tutelare Bob Dylan, che fa capolino qua e là durante il disco. Nelle canzoni di Alvarado ritroviamo lo spirito del blue collar, delle polverose strade della provincia americana ma anche un spaccati di vita quotidiana come la difficoltà di vivere un rapporto di coppia e la delusione per un amore finito. All’ascolto il disco sorprende per gli arrangiamenti e per le ottime parti di chitarra di cui si fa carico Marc Ribot e che impreziosiscono non poco ogni singolo brano. Si passa così dal Dylan evocato in Gone, Gone, Gone al Van Morrison di Get This Far fino ma è con brani come It’s For You e Nobody Knows che emerge quel pizzico di originalità che fa di Alvarado una sicura promessa. Godibilissime sono anche la cantautorale See You Again, il country di Burning Bridges e i due rock strada ioli New York e It’s All Right. Chiude il disco quella perla che è la pianistica Reason, un brano intenso ed emozionante che evidenzia tutte le potenzialità del songwriting di Alvarado. Let It Go è senza dubbio una bella sorpresa ma solo il futuro ci dirà qual è il valore reale del suo autore.
-Salvatore Esposito
Google Translation
Steven Alvarado was reported negl'ultimi years as an honest singer with good numbers that enabled him to shed some satisfaction as with the beautiful disc recorded in 2005, The Howl Sessions. Today we try again, raising the post, with Let It Go disc that collects ten new songs engraved with an excellent band in which stand out Marc Ribot on guitar, Kenny Wollesen on drums, Rob Burger of the plan and Joe Quigley on bass. The style than in the past that has lost reflexivity that distinguishes it but not the ability to touch the strings of the heart of the audience, the songwriting is now more mature and seems to squeeze the eye now John Mellencamp Springsteen now, without forgetting his nume protect Bob Dylan, who is head here and there throughout the disc. The songs of Alvarado find the spirit of blue collar, the dusty roads of the province but also an American snapshots of daily life such as the difficulty of living a relationship of the couple and a love for disappointment over. Listening to the disc surprises for the arrangement and for the good parts of the guitar which is being Marc Ribot and not just embellish each song. We move so touched by Dylan in Gone, Gone, Gone to Van Morrison to Get This Far up but with songs like It's For You and Nobody Knows emerging that hint of originality that makes Alvarado definite promise. Godibilissime are also cantautorale See You Again, the country of Burning Bridges and the two rock road IOLI New York and It's All Right. That closes the disc which is the pearl piano Reason, an intense and emotional song that highlights the potential of songwriting to Alvarado. Let It Go is certainly a surprise but only the future will tell us what is the real value of its author.
-Salvatore Esposito
Hi Friends,
MAVERICK MAGAZINE, UK
