About This Item
The record was recorded live in August 2014 over a few days with long time co-producer Omar Vallejo. The record features eight Taylor originals that have all appeared previously on other JTS CD's but on Cantina the theme is stripped down acoustic. There are no electric instruments on Cantina. With only acoustic guitar, fiddle, cajon, stand up bass, trumpets and accordion all the Sinner elements are still present. All the energy and ferocity that you would expect from a Sinners is here in spades. The production is similar to the 2012 critical darling Bad JuJu but where Bad JuJu is kinetic, Cantina Del Diablo is more controlled. That might have lot to do with the fact that Jackson has more control over himself these days and that control has shown itself in back-to-back Billboard charting releases Crazy Again in 2013, and Live at Billy Bobs in 2014. Jackson has long been Texas musics' reigning bad boy, leading to the Sinners being known as Texas' most dangerous band, but there is a maturity in Jackson that has affected his music with a controlled chaos. Cantina borrows heavily on the Mariachi music Jackson grew up with working in the migrant fruit orchards of California, Washington, Oregon and Montana as a child. Taylor is an interpretive song writer and this record is an ode to those early days, and a musical style that has had an immense influence on him.
