Bud & Travis The Bud & Travis Latin Album

Liner Note Author: Thomas Patrick Straw.

The oft-overlooked duo of Bud Dashiell and Travis Edmonson may have never had a hit single, but their contributions to the '60s folk revival were impressive to say the least. The ten records that appeared between the years of 1958 and 1966 introduced the world -- mostly fellow performers -- to their trademark harmonies and electrifying guitar work, but one album in particular shone the brightest. The Latin Album was a landmark of sorts, a worldbeat tutorial for an audience whose only Hispanic musical outlets were "groovy" hipsters like Herb Alpert and Sergio Mendes. The 12 boleros, serenatas, guajiras, and juapengos are played with a reverence for their source material that's genuinely moving, resulting in a recording that sounds as important now as it was in 1965. That the duo included liner notes in both Spanish and English was extremely forward-thinking for the times, and it won over critics and contemporaries alike. Sadly, The Latin Album was also Bud & Travis' swan song, and a fitting one at that. Long out of print, Folk Era's lovingly restored reissue may be light on the packaging, but it's weighed down by some seriously gorgeous material. ~ James Christopher Monger