Fantasy
Things are looking up for Tex-Mex fans. Earlier this year, the reunited Texas Tornados (with Freddie Fender appearing posthumously and Shawn Sahm filling in for his pop, Doug) released “¡Esta Bueno!” Now, former Mavericks member Malo pushes the genre’s envelope with “Sinners & Saints.”
Disney Sound
There’s no shortage of single- and various-artist Disney tributes: “Dave Digs Disney” (Dave Brubeck), “Let’s Fly With Mary Poppins” (Louis Prima), “Disney Songs the Satchmo Way” (Louis Armstrong), “Stay Awake,” “Heigh-Ho! Mozart,” “Bossa Disney Nova” and “Got No Strings” (Michelle Shocked) are but a few over a half-century.
Vanguard
It’ll be 10 years ago in November that Sahm, 58, went to sleep at a New Mexico motel and never woke up. Since then, there have been enough releases to keep fans happy while preserving his legacy: “The Return of Wayne Douglas” (his final sessions, 2000); “The Songs of Sahm” (the Bottle Rockets’ covers disc, 2002); two limited-edition reissues — “The Genuine Texas Groover” (“Doug Sahm & Band” and “Texas Tornado” with more than an album’s worth of outtakes, 2003) and “The Complete Mercury Masters” (the Sir Douglas Quintet’s six original Mercury/Smash albums plus bonus material, 2005); and “Live From Austin, Texas” (a 1981 “Austin City Limits” performance, 2006).
Rhino
One of these days, someone’s gonna do the 4-CD box set Cooder deserves — with early Rising Sons and Captain Beefheart material, session work, solo stuff, soundtracks, world music collaborations … But until then, this double CD culled from studio albums and soundtracks will have to do.
