Alejandro Escovedo

Following similar expensive presentations accorded to his two Watermelon albums, With These Hands, arguably Escovedo's best, most diverse, and provocative work (and his sole release on the Ryko label) receives the deluxe double-disc treatment. The sound is cleaned and tightened up a bit and the cover art reflects the original concept (which Ryko initially rejected), but the bonuses come on disc two. Kicking off with "Can't Take It," a hard-rocking studio track that was intended for the album but was cut, the rest of the extra CD is filled with live performances. It's here that the songs literally come alive in a variety of band settings. With seven tunes recorded in 1996 at South By Southwest (just before the release of the studio album), followed by five more cuts recorded the same year with his acoustic combo, this shows Escovedo's diversity and breadth as a musician. A rollicking Stonesy "The End" -- reprised from his Thirteen Years album -- shows how convincingly this band could rock. The closing "Pyramid of Tears" comes from Gravity, and even unplugged, the song resounds with a driving intensity only hinted at in its studio incarnation, helped enormously by a small string section of cello and violin. An untitled bonus track that closes out the second disc is a lovely instrumental. Its tinkling, melancholy piano and mournful cello provide a fitting coda to this much-deserved expanded edition of an underappreciated gem. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide