Song of the Day 5/7: Dave Alvin, “Plastic Rose”
When Dave Alvin released his second solo album, “Blue Blvd,” in 1991, the Washington Post reviewer complimented it by saying the songs were like Raymond Carver stories. Alvin once told an interviewer that because he never became a star, he didn’t travel in a plane or tour bus, so he was free to observe the people he writes about.
This one is a good example — musically it’s a bluesy country song, but no Nashville tunesmith would serve up such a raw, unsweetened slice of life as Alvin’s young couple sitting in a coffee shop before going to the abortion clinic. Like Carver, he presents stark reality without sentiment or judgment, leaving the listener to sift meaning from the ambiguity.
As you know, Dave is one of my all-time fave songwriters. So much empathy and humanity. He was the first artist I booked for the Gild Hall.
He’s as serious about editing his songs as he is writing them. He has said that he’d ask himself, “Does this really need to be in there?” If not, he excises it. He trusts his listeners to use their minds rather than spelling everything out.
He’s just survived a serious bout with cancer. I wish he was much better-known.
Dave Alvin is royalty. He’s The King of California.
Elmore Leonard must have been a fan. Loved the fact that Dave, and a couple of his songs, were featured on Justified. His version of this Darrell Scott song gives me chills:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RqQMTSf_nM
One more incredible cover by Dave, this one with Cali ties. He inhabits this song by Merle Haggard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbtuw6ptZW4