Calvin Russell
A Crack in Time

Debut album for Calvin Russell: 42 years old in 1990, with a life full of ventures and misadventures and a biography richer in prisons than in songs. For Russell, A CRACK IN TIME is truly the "crack" that fate has allowed him to pass through the wall of a destiny otherwise already negatively marked. His good fortune has the name and surname of Patrick Mathé, producer of this album for the French independent label New Rose.

And it's right in their Paris shop that I discovered this little gem. A handful of no-frills songs that smell of roots rock, almost all penned by him except for two covers by fellow Texans: «I Should Have Been Home» by Blaze Foley and the beautiful «Nothin’» by Townes van Zandt. Accompanying musicians are effective but fairly anonymous, likely tied to the session player circuit of Arlyn Studios in Austin; I'll at least highlight the sax of Tomas Ramirez and the lead guitar of Gary Craft.

The album's image is minimalist and very stylish, with a lovely series of sepia-toned images of our Calvin. However, the style of the graphics prevails over the clarity of the information, and even the lyrics – in truly tiny fonts – are not easy to read.

My favorite songs: «Behind The 8 Ball», which almost seems like a manifesto of life on the edge of gambling (the 8-ball in billiards) and then the electric rush of «Living At The End Of A Gun»; the already mentioned «Nothin’» and the title track. They're not bad – but perhaps a bit too Dylan-esque – «Big Brother» and «My Way», and also, in closing, the romantic country duet of «Moments», just to lighten the pill of a life otherwise a bit too bitter.

Compared to the long-playing, the CD edition has added a few pieces, but the essence doesn’t change: a remarkable album for a completely unknown author in Italy. I recommend it to anyone who wants to broaden their horizons beyond the usual names.