For the legions of people who are familiar with the work of Tom Russell, it comes as no surprise that he once tried his hand at writing novels. Story telling is certainly his forte. No Russell album is merely a collection of songs. Instead, they are fabulously spun tales interwoven with music. "Borderland", his latest release on Hightone Records is certainly no exception. And, like his previous releases "The Man From God Knows Where" and "Song of the West", this album is a collection of tunes built around a central theme.

"Borderland" at first glance appears to be a collection of musical tales set in and around the Rio Grande, the border that separates the United States from Mexico. But there is an underlying theme that runs throughout this album, and that is the reference to the border that frequently distances a man and woman. This is a scene that is graphically played out in the album's opening track, 'Touch of Evil'.

The sub text for 'Touch of Evil' is the 1958 Orson Welles film noir classic of the same name. Russell grew up in California near where the film was shot and he uses this film as a backdrop to his character's problems with the fairer sex. Layering, as a literary device, is used expertly by Russell in this song as he ventures from his central character suffering from "the Orson Welles, Marlene Deitrich blues" into scenes from the movie that relate to the problems of the protagonist, to this final verse:

Won't someone roll the credits on twenty years of love turned dark and wrong,
Not a Technicolor love film, it's a brutal document, it's film noir.
And it's all played out on a borderline and the actors are tragically miscast,
Like a Mexican burlesque show where the characters are wearing comic masks.
Oh it's love and love alone I cry to the barman in this Juarez waterhole,
As we raise a glass to Orson and the touch of evil living in our souls.

The music for 'Touch of Evil' is laden with a southwestern feel, complete with trumpets, accordion, acoustic guitar, and a little electric slide adding a haunting feel to the song. This one track serves to demonstrate how masterfully Russell can paint a picture merely using words and musical instruments.

As with any collection of short stories, there are always those that take the reader on a journey to where the author desires, then returns them intact, albeit somewhat changed as a result of the excursion. The same is true in Russell's "Borderland". The stories will absorb the listener completely. Outlined here are some of the more memorable tracks on this recording.

Influenced by Russell's real life girlfriend's uncle, 'When Sinatra Played Juarez' recalls the day when Ciudad Juarez overshadowed Las Vegas as a celebrity hangout and entertainment center. "Uncle Tommy was a piano player in Juarez and observed a lot of what went on with the movie stars," Russell says. "Because of the laws down there at the time, it was a popular place for famous people to get divorced." This song also highlights the sure fine accordion talents of Joel Guzman (Los Lobos, Joe Ely), who is featured on many of the tracks on this CD.

'Hills of Old Juarez' is the first to tackle the criminal element on this recording. It tells the story of a man who turns to cocaine smuggling in order to support the lavish love of his life, and is as Russell describes it, a drug-running ballad in the spirit of Marty Robbins. Listen once to the song, and you will see why he makes this comparison.

The next offering, 'The Santa Fe at Midnight', is a train song of the first order. However, this story takes exception with the usual train tales, which are, as a rule, about leaving, being left, or reaching the end of something or another. In Russell's hands, the Santa Fe at midnight is merely a backdrop to his amorous escapades with his lover; nothing more than romantic background music.

What collection of stories would be complete without at least one submission that is completely autobiographical? 'What Work Is' fills this requirement, as it is based on three of the many unusual jobs that Russell has held. This time he covers his stints working at a butter creamery, operating a wood chipper for the city of Inglewood and driving a truck for a rose company. Some of the other uncommon positions that Russell has held include teaching school in Nigeria during the Biafran War, sweeping out theatres in Austin, driving a cab in New York City, and being in a band that was backing strippers in Vancouver. One can't help but suspect that there are many stories yet to be told.

The music throughout "Borderland" is extraordinary, supplying each story with a fitting soundtrack. However, at least four tracks are noteworthy because of their departure from the usual folky sound that one has come to identify with a Russell album. The aforementioned 'What Work Is', 'The Next Thing Smokin', 'Let It Go', and 'The Road It Gives, the Road it Takes Away', all find Russell and long time sideman Andrew Hardin trading in their usual acoustic guitars for electric axes. Backed by Austin's own Ian McLagan (Small Faces, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan) on the Hammond B3, album producer Gurf Morlix (Lucinda Williams, Robert Earl Keen, Slaid Cleaves) on bass and guitar, and Houston native Rick Richards on drums, these tracks have an edgier, rockier feel to them. They break up the terrain in a most interesting and welcome fashion.

Russell sought out Morlix to produce this album not only because of his work with Lucinda Williams, Slaid Cleaves and Robert Earl Keen, but also because "he has a great sense of space and doesn't clutter up the songs." At a pre-production session, Russell played for Morlix all of the songs he had written in the past four years, and was surprised when Morlix selected the same eleven songs that Russell himself had chosen, the ones that now comprise "Borderland".

"Borderland" is Russell's edgiest, most electric album to date, replete with the stories that he has come to be known for. It is certain to appeal to a wider spectrum of the audience than his music normally does, and will do so without sacrificing any of the artistic integrity that he has come to be linked with, or without losing any of his more established listeners. It is as if Russell has reached a place in his life where he is opening the windows and doors of his existence, throwing back the sashes, and inviting the visitor to join him in exploring the sights, sounds and smells of a land that borders on a plain suspended somewhere between the tangible and the spiritual. This is Tom Russell the storyteller, and Tom Russell the musician at his best.

You can learn more about Tom Russell at www.tomrussell.com.

You can contact Scott Snidow at: scott-at-rockzilla.net

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