Charity compilations are always a noble concept but often contain less than brilliant music. Not so with Graciously. One third of the proceeds from sales will go towards the recovery effort in New Orleans following the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina last year and all the songs were recorded at the Tucson-based Wavelab Studios by artists with a strong affinity for the place.No Tucson-based compilation would be complete without Calexico and John Convertino, and Joey Burns' collective's Griptape Heart is an early highlight. Steve Wynn (formerly of Dream Syndicate and Gutterball) offers the delightful Riverside and Nick Luca's (musician/producer and second-in-command at Wavelab) Shadow Painting is boisterous, Counting Crows-esque rock.
Elsewhere, Denver, Colorado's Devotchka offer Twenty-Six Temptations, a quirky mélange of cabaret and Eastern dance music, Richmond Fontaine perform The Gits with their typically quirky punk energy and country and western twang, Amelia White does her best impression of Lucinda Williams on Skeleton Key and I Wish I Was Doing This by Robin Hitchcock is packed with typical lyrical inanities.
Tucson's most famous resident, Howe Gelb, teams up with Nottingham's Scout Niblett for a rambunctious version of Bow Wow Wow's I Want Candy, in what proves to be the album's stand out moment.
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