Straight from the Heart by Carlos Guitarlos

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Electric Blues | Guitar Blues

17 tracks | 47 minutes

Released Mar 2003
on Nomad

Click for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.

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sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:19 Damn' Atchafalaya lyrics BUY MP3 02:19 Damn' Atchafalaya lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:19 Damn' Atchafalaya

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:40 The Love I Want lyrics BUY MP3 03:40 The Love I Want lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:40 The Love I Want

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:53 Ain't That Lovin' You (w/Mike Watt) lyrics BUY MP3 03:53 Ain't That Lovin' You (w/Mike Watt) lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:53 Ain't That Lovin' You (w/Mike Watt)

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:00 Straight From The Heart lyrics BUY MP3 02:00 Straight From The Heart lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:00 Straight From The Heart

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:32 Easyrider lyrics BUY MP3 02:32 Easyrider lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:32 Easyrider

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:01 The Sea Of All My Troubles lyrics BUY MP3 03:01 The Sea Of All My Troubles lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:01 The Sea Of All My Troubles

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:28 Poppin' & Bumpin' (w/Dave Alvin) lyrics BUY MP3 02:28 Poppin' & Bumpin' (w/Dave Alvin) lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:28 Poppin' & Bumpin' (w/Dave Alvin)

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:30 Keep My Hot Tamales Warm lyrics BUY MP3 02:30 Keep My Hot Tamales Warm lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:30 Keep My Hot Tamales Warm

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:54 Two Tavern Town (w/John Doe) lyrics BUY MP3 02:54 Two Tavern Town (w/John Doe) lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:54 Two Tavern Town (w/John Doe)

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:30 Dance With Your Baby lyrics BUY MP3 02:30 Dance With Your Baby lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:30 Dance With Your Baby

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:34 Everybody's Got The Blues lyrics BUY MP3 02:34 Everybody's Got The Blues lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:34 Everybody's Got The Blues

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:55 The Drought Song lyrics BUY MP3 02:55 The Drought Song lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:55 The Drought Song

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:18 Women & Whiskey lyrics BUY MP3 02:18 Women & Whiskey lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:18 Women & Whiskey

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:25 Co Co Club lyrics BUY MP3 02:25 Co Co Club lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:25 Co Co Club

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:04 Where Is The Music? lyrics BUY MP3 02:04 Where Is The Music? lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:04 Where Is The Music?

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:35 You Don't Know What Love Is lyrics BUY MP3 04:35 You Don't Know What Love Is lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:35 You Don't Know What Love Is

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:10 When The Pain Stops Killing Me lyrics BUY MP3 03:10 When The Pain Stops Killing Me lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:10 When The Pain Stops Killing Me

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“Possibly the Album of the Year” -Creem Magazine // “…Best Contemporary Blues Album come next year's Grammy Awards” -Entertainment Today // “Truly one of a kind, he's put out a masterpiece with Straight From The Heart” –Blues Revue Magaz

Editorial review

Carlos Guitarlos has a pretty dramatic back story, one of going from cult figure (major in Los Angeles, minor everywhere else) as lead guitarist of '80s punk-blooze blasters Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs to long, hard years scuffling as a street musician in San Francisco. The fact his self-released solo debut pulls in John Doe and Dave Alvin for one song apiece gives some idea of the musical company he ran with. Straight From the Heart is a solid slice of blues-leaning, Americana roots music that favors songs over guitar heroics and unadorned R&B ballads to a surprising degree. Some of the latter are quite good ("The Love I Want," the title track, and the bluesy "You Don't Know What Love Is," with its strong guitar and sax solos) and some are lukewarm to tepid (the cloying "Sea of All My Troubles" or the jazzy noir of {"The Drought Song"}). Mostly it's a mixed grab-bag, with the fun rockabilly rave-up "Poppin' & Bumpin'" featuring Alvin and Doe chipping in on the honky tonk-themed "Two Tavern Town." There are some country tinges on "Easy Rider," a nod to the Rhythm Pigs' past with the rip-roaring "Dance With Your Baby," and a Bo Diddley beat powering "Everybody's Got the Blues." "Atchafalaya" kind of references Chuck Berry's "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man" with a Cajun twang and "Ain't That Lovin' You" with Mike Watt on bass is '60s soul with an organ and horn section that evokes "Ain't That a Lot of Love" more than an original. And in a lot of ways, that sums up Straight From the Heart because there's nothing here you haven't heard before. "Co Co Club" sort of wants to be a New Orleans R&B tribute, imagining the kind of mythical roadhouse that really doesn't exist anymore. And, of course, you might wonder if another rough-hewn boogie called "Women and Whiskey" or the totally dismissible "Keep My Hot Tamales Warm" ever needed to exist in the first place. The lyrics tend to work off a single good line or phrase and don't go much deeper, but that's where the title of Straight From the Heart comes into play. It rings true because there's no absolutely artifice to the music here -- the songs project sincerity and lay open what ultimately is a good heart. Just listen as Guitarlos' ravaged, hoarse voice struggles to negotiate "When the Pain Stops Killing Me" and then announces, "I can't sing any more." It's the truth, his voice is totally shot, the great "I'll stop killing the pain/When the pain stops killing me" chorus smacks of hard-earned truths from a hard life, and there simply couldn't be anymore fitting wrap-up for this disc. ~ Don Snowden, All Music Guide

Bio / Background

Carlos Guitarlos is the REAL-DEAL and "Straight from the Heart" proves it. The disc features Mike Watt, John Doe, and Grammy Winner Dave Alvin. Carlos earned his reputation as the lead guitarist/songwriter of the legendary L.A. band Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs. Many of you may remember the Van Halen song, "Top Jimmy", penned as a tribute to Carlos' band. VH wasn't the only ones on which Carlos left a lasting impression: You can count the Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan, Dwight Yoakam, Beck, and the Flaming Lips as fans. Carlos has recorded and/or played with: Tom Waits, Los Lobos, The Blasters, X, and The Breeders. He went on to become a street legend in his adopted hometown of San Francisco. There, he often lived the streets on which he played (we'll just say he's more than paid his dues). His hard living landed him in a S.F. hospital bed, fighting for his life with congestive heart failure, hence, "Straight from the Heart" (the title track was written from his hospital bed).