Ashgrove (album)

The title song is in reference to the Ashgrove club where Alvin first saw his early inspirations Big Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin' Hopkins and Reverend Gary Davis. "The Man in the Bed" is a reflection on the death of his father.[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
PopMatters	(mixed)[3]

Writing for Allmusic, music critic Mark Deming wrote of the album "Dave is rockin' again...though just a little bit... Overall, the quieter material makes up the bulk of Ashgrove's playing time, but the handful of blues-based tunes on board give the set a texture that's cool and sharp, and the result resides in a satisfying middle ground that ought to please fans on both side of the electric guitar issue."[2] Jason MacNeil of PopMatters wrote "His latest album is suggested as a blues album, but you’d be hard pressed to find the mid-tempo blues tunes an improvement on the stellar folk-oriented side."[3]

All songs by Dave Alvin unless otherwise noted.

1. "Ashgrove" – 6:15
2. "Rio Grande" (Dave Alvin, Tom Russell) – 4:25
3. "Black Sky" – 4:48
4. "Nine Volt Heart" (Alvin, Rod Hodges) – 4:57
5. "Out of Control" – 6:34
6. "Everett Ruess" – 4:51
7. "Sinful Daughter" (Alvin, Shannon McNally) – 4:28
8. "The Man in the Bed" – 4:35
9. "Black Haired Girl" – 5:25
10. "Somewhere in Time" (Alvin, David Hidalgo, Louie Pérez) – 5:54

• Dave Alvin – vocals, guitar
• Chris Gaffney – background vocals
• Bob Glaub – bass
• Patrick Warren – keyboards
• Don Heffington – drums, percussion
• David Piltch – bass, double bass
• Greg Leisz – guitar, slide guitar, pedal steel guitar, background vocals

• Mark Linett – engineer, mixing
• Craig Parker Adams - recording engineer
• Joe Gastwirt – mastering
• Lou Beach – design
• Issa Sharp – photography