Austin American Statesman XLent by Michael Corcoran June 13, 2002:

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Alejandro Escovedo
Gravity (TMG)

The opening line "Did you get your invitation?/There's gonna be a public hanging" sets up a dark and moving album that's one of the best ever recorded in Austin. It was 1992, three years after the breakup of the True Believers and the year after Bobbie LeVie, his companion of 13 years, committed suicide. The title refers to the weight of the world that Escovedo felt on his shoulders. But from such despair often comes the best work. With the loser's waltz "Broken Bottle," Escovedo found a reservoir of emotion only hinted at with his previous band, whose Faces/Stooges style was reprised with a rompin' stompin' "Oxford." But the real treasures here are the midtempo rockers "Paradise," "Five Hearts Breaking," "Pyramid of Tears" and "Gravity/Falling Down Again."

As a bonus and a reminder that Escovedo can be one of the most spellbinding performers around, this reissue includes a disc that wonderfully captures a 1993 concert at McCabe's in Santa Monica. Especially noteworthy: a 10-minute tangle of "Bury Me" and "Hard Road" with Mickey Raphael on harp.