Imagine if The Waterboys had not come together in London in the early eighties before expanding to embrace the Celtic musical spirit in all its musical forms, but had instead formed in Madrid two decades later and explored and celebrated a more Mediterranean and Latino folk sound. Track Dogs would be the result because that is precisely what they have done.
If you are new to the band, and if so, where have you been all this time? “Tracks Laid, Tracks Covered” is the perfect place for you to dip your toe in their warm and welcoming sonic waters. As the byline suggests, this double album is half a retrospective of their best-known and most popular live songs and half an album’s worth of new material to celebrate the band’s twentieth anniversary. Some of the material is original and some covers. It’s a generous mixed bag of music, fresh and familiar, old and new. And it’s a real treat.
As soon as “Amor De Mi Vida” kicks the album off, the scene is set – vibrant, brass-fuelled, upbeat, sing-along, dance-along, drink-along, infectious folk with pretentions to be the best pop song in the world. “La Banda” is a call to dance, “Piece of Cake” reminds us that the band are as likely to be found exploring, the Tex Mex blends of the New World as they are celebrating the sounds of the Old, and in the “tracks covered” section, their masterful and deft version of “Man of Constant Sorrow” is a brilliant blend of blues pathos, and mournful latin groove. Quite fantastic.
At forty tracks, there isn’t room to discuss the album in depth. A 4000-word essay would only begin to do this album, the band, and their music justice, but such is the band’s charm and creativity, not to mention the sheer contagion of the music, that it is hard to imagine anyone who isn’t going to immediately warm to its seductive and sensational, supple and subtle brilliance.
Website
Facebook
x
YouTube
Instagram
