This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Texas troubadour Alejandro Escovedo has always mined his own life for his music. But his 1993 release Thirteen Years is one of the most intensely personal works of his long and varied career.
A confessional self-examination of his failed relationship and ex’s subsequent suicide, the 52-minute set — appended with a CD of instrumental mixes, live cuts and extras — is a darkly riveting portrait of grief and eventual acceptance, set against a rich backdrop of earthy roots music and stately, mournful strings. To keep the mood from getting too maudlin, Escovedo tosses in the odd rocker like the Westerbergian Losing Your Touch or the Mellencampy Mountain of Mud. But you get the sense it’s just the work of a guy smiling to keep from crying. You might get a little misty yourself.
