Make that two thumbs up for

YepRoc Record's “The Man Of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute To The Songs Of Chris Gaffney”. The upcoming release (May 2009) features an All Star Americana cast paying tribute to the late Mr. Gaffney (1950-2008). I agree with Larry's strong recommendation of the disc but I do disagree with “the best three songs are definitely” even though I really enjoyed Joe Ely’s version of “Lift Your Leg” and James McMurtry’s rockin' cover of “Fight (Tonight’s The Night)”. I came to the music of Chris Gaffney, a Guilty Man, through his work with Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men so I’m definitely guilty of a bias when I tell you that "the best three songs are definitely" “Artesia” (Dave Alvin), “Six Nights A Week” (Peter Case) and “1968” (Alejandro Escovedo). Other highlights are Tom Russell’s “If Daddy Don’t Sing Daddy Boy” and Boz Scaggs’ soulful take on “Midnight Dream”. A nice addition would have been Gaffney’s overlooked duet with Lucinda Williams on the Sixties Philly soul standard “Cowboys to Girl” from his 1995 release "Loser's Paradise". You can see Gaffney and Alvin's live version of "Cowboys" from SXSW (1990) here. The posthumous tribute is equal parts wake and celebration as YepRoc honors the man Dave Alvin describes as a "distinctive accordionist, humorist, workingman, all around athlete. ex-Golden Glove boxing champ, loving father, husband, brother, uncle, loyal amigo, a romantic rough tough cream puff, a bit of a rascal, rounder, vagabond and spiritual advisor".

All proceeds from this album will benefit the non-profit group Hungry for Music and the Gaffney family. The mission of "Hungry for Music" is to inspire underprivileged children (and others) by bringing positive musical and creative experiences into their lives. In 2006 "Hungry for Music" released the excellent three disc tribute to the music of Peter Case “A Case for Case" featuring an even larger cast of Americana All Stars.

Great music and two important causes.

Highly recommended.