Flaco Jimenez Sleepytown (Back Porch)

Flaco Jimenez

Sleepytown (Back Porch)

Sleepytown follows the path taken by other releases by Flaco Jimenez, meaning it features guest stars of all stripes and is musically varied. Unfortunately, on Sleepytown one gets the sense that Jimenez was more a spectator/sideman than on previous efforts. Starting with a "A Little Drink, a Little Dance," a bluesy shuffle featuring Lee Roy Parnell on vocals and slide guitar, Sleepytown then segues into "Alright, I'm Wrong," a honky-tonk duet of sorts with Dwight Yoakam. Nothing implicitly wrong with either of these tunes, except that Jimenez is relegated to accordion fills and the occasional background vocal. The next track is where things start unraveling. Jimenez and Buck Owens' duet on the Beatles' "Love Me Do" has enough of a novelty hook, but their voices don't meld in any way that could be called mellifluous, leaving the catchy accordion riff (substituting for the original's harmonica) to carry the tune with disappointing results. In fact, it's not until the album's last couple of tracks, the traditional-conjunto-flavored "Amor" and the Tejano-style "Baila la Gente," that Jimenez's legendary accordion prowess steps into the limelight. By then, however, it's too little too late. Pete Anderson, Yoakam's guitarist and producer, and the team of Michael and Ron Morales are credited with production duties on Sleepytown, and their overall selection of less-than-compelling songs and settings for Jimenez's talents results in a collection of Tex-Mex sounds that should've been better.