CD of the Week: Street Songs of Love

Alejandro Escovedo's tenth studio album, Street Songs of Love, was created on the stage. The influential singer-songwriter set up a weekly residency in an Austin club for two months, previewing three works-in-progress each week and testing them out on his willing audiences. 

“It was interesting to see it grow and blossom," he writes. "It started with the room half full, but it built until the last one sold out. Every week it became more intense with the album taking shape in front of us organically." 

The resulting collection continues Escovedo's arc as a vital songwriter, from his punk days in the '70s and '80s to his critically acclaimed solo career that took off in the '90s. Standout tracks "Anchor" and "Tender Heart" are a great introduction to Escovedo's work.