TONY FURTADO
Thirteen
Funzalo
· Singers looking for material and producers looking for respect, take note.
Those who think that producers really don’t make any musical contribution to an album – besides asking for "More cowbell!" – should note that the backing band on Portland-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Tony Furtado’s new recording has four of them in it, all of whom are super-solid musicians.
Having been recorded in Tucson, the home of folks like Calexico, it’s no surprise that Thirteen has a decidedly Americana feel to it. Songs like the title track (a minor-key ballad about the Sago mine disaster), "Hurtin’ in My Right Side" (an updating of an old convict work song), and the train-shuffle instrumental "Sevens" are solid additions to the No Depression canon.
Furtado’s James Taylor-esque vocals don’t always have the grit necessary to really pull off the lyrics he writes (or covers, like CCR’s "Fortunate Son"), but singers looking for solid material to work with should snap up pieces like the love song "I Wait for This" and the melancholy Bukowski-inspired "The Alcohol."
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