Tom Russell Teams Up With Calexico On New Album "Blood and Candle Smoke" / Listen to S...

Tom Russell [photo by Colin Young Wolff]

My girlfriend and I were sitting around yesterday evening talking about singer-songwriter Tom Russell, when we started playing a word association game that went something like this: "When you think of Tom Russell's music, what words or images come to mind"? Here's what we came up with:

"Dusty roads, the American Southwest, deserts, smoke, gone America, the stories of people and places along the old highways before the interstates rolled through, carnies, honky-tonk, beat jazz, Bukowski, the mariachi, red-walled canyons, old-tube radios, poetry, gospel tent revivals, cowboys, Route 66, forgotten faces and time, Buck Owens, circus music, Indians, the splashes of color from a Navajo rug, steel men, desperadoes, immigrant stories, and gunslingers".

I've been a Tom Russell fan for a number of years now and it always surprises me that more people aren't familiar with his work. He's easily one of my favorite songwriters and his albums are always more like a series of novellas set to music than they are simply a collection of songs. And if you listen to albums like Borderland or Modern Art, Love & Fear or The Man From God Knows Where, Hotwalker or Poor Man's Dream the images above will not only become familiar but they will come to life. So it is with Tom Russell's work.

For his forthcoming album, Blood and Candle Smoke, Tom Russell is beginning what he calls the "start to the second half of the story, reaching out toward wider realms". Recorded at Tucson's Wave Lab Studios and due in stores on September 15th via Shout! Factory, Blood and Candle Smoke finds Russell teaming up with the members of Calexico, a band that Russell first discovered while listening to the soundtrack for the Dylan-inspired film I'm Not There.

With Calexico's Joey Burns, John Convertino, and Jacob Valenzuela providing much of the musical support, Russell sums up the songs on Blood and Candle Smoke with these final words: "I've finally arrived at a newer sound that I like, and 12 new songs that I really like...I think I' m really stepping forward into a bigger, broader world with this album."

The first track to be made available from Tom Russell's forthcoming album is included below and features Nick Luca on steel guitar and Gretchen Peters as Russell's vocal partner. Russell is also set to hit the road in support of Blood and Candle Smoke later this month for a 41-city U.S. tour that will include an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman on October 1st. If you get a chance definitely check him out! [complete list of tour dates after the break]

MP3: Tom Russell--Santa Ana Wind------------Pre-Order: Tom Russell--Blood and Candle Smoke

Tom Russell Announced Tour DatesSept 18 - Albuquerque, NM - El Rey TheaterSept 19 - Durango, CO - Henry Strater TheatreSept 30 - Cambridge, MA - Club PassimsOct 1 - The Late Show w/ David Letterman - CBSOct 2 - Piermont, NY - Turning PointOct 3 - New York, NY - Joe' s PubOct 4 - Vienna, VA - Jammin' JavaOct 6 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rex TheatreOct 7 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland BallroomOct 8 - Columbus, OH - Columbus MaennerchorOct 9 - Ann Arbor, MI - The ArkOct 10 - Berwyn, IL - FitzgeraldOct 11 - Fairfield, IA - Café ParadisoOct 13 - Columbia, MO - The Blue NoteOct 14 - Kansas City, MO 0 KnuckleheadsOct 15 - Springfield, IL - Hoogland Center for the ArtsOct 16 - St. Louis, MO - Off BroadwayOct 17 - Mt. Olive, IL - Turner HallNov 4 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm RoomNov 5 - Tucson, AZ - Club CongressNov 6 - Pinos Altos, NM - Buckhorn SaloonNov 7 - Las Cruces, NM - Rio Grande TheatreNov 8 - Santa Fe, NM - Santa Fe Brewing CompanyNov 10 - Fort Worth, TX - McDavid StudioNov 11 - Dallas, TX - Allgood CaféNov 12 - Austin, TX - Cactus CaféNov 13 - Fischer, TX - Rice FestivalNov 14 - Houston, TX - Mucky DuckNov 15 - San Antonio, TX - Casbeers at the ChurchDec 4 - San Diego, CA - San Diego Acoustic CaféDec 5 - Santa Monica, CA - McCabesDec 6 - Ojai, CA - Ojai Concert SeriesDec 7 - Visalia, CA - Maverick' s Roasting CompanyDec 9 - Felton, CA - Don QuixoteDec 10 - Redwood City, CA - Little Fox TheatreDec 11 - Berkeley, CA - Freight and SalvageDec 12 - Winters, CA - The PalmsDec 13 - Sparks, NV - Great Basin Brewing CompanyDec 14 - Sparks, NV - Great Basin Brewing CompanyDec 15 - Portland, OR - Aladdin TheatreDec 16 - Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern