''Border Wave'' is an album by the American band the
Sir Douglas Quintet
The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their home state. When their career was established (subsequent to working with Texas record produ ...
, released in 1981.
Doug Sahm
Douglas Wayne Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from San Antonio, Texas. He is regarded as a key Tejano music, Tex-Mex music and Music of Texas, Texan Music pe ...
was inspired to record the album after the success of
Joe Carrasco
Joe "King" Carrasco (born December 6, 1953, as Joseph Charles Teutsch) is a Tex-Mex new wave guitarist, vocalist and songwriter currently based in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Biography
Joe King Carrasco, who is known as the king of Tex-Mex rock 'n ...
and
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
. It was Sahm's second album for
Takoma Records
Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by guitarist John Fahey in the late 1950s.''Billboard'' 200. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
Production
Recorded at
Electric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer. It was completed by 1970. Hendrix ...
over five days, the album was coproduced by
Craig Leon
Craig Leon (born 7 January 1952) is an American-born record producer, composer and arranger currently living in England.''International Who's Who in Classical Music 2005'', Routledge, 2005. Leon was instrumental in launching the careers of many ...
. Sahm was joined by original bandmembers Johnny Perez and
Augie Meyers
August "Augie" Meyers (born May 31, 1940) is an American musician, songwriter, studio musician, record producer, and record label owner. He is perhaps best known as a founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.
History ...
. Speedy Sparks played bass and Alvin Crow played guitar. " You're Gonna Miss Me" is a cover of the
Roky Erickson
Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Called an "outsider genius," he was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic r ...
song. "I Keep Wishing for You" was written by
Butch Hancock
Butch Hancock (born July 12, 1945, in Lubbock, Texas) is an American country recording artist and songwriter. He is a member of The Flatlanders along with Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, but he has principally performed solo.
Background and ...
. "Who'll Be the Next in Line" is a cover of
the Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
song.
Critical reception
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote that "Mr. Sahm and his cohorts, whether from age or their record production, sound older and heavier, too."
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
determined that "he handles horns better than most, but the quintet is Doug's home concept, and this reunion could be his best LP ever." ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' stated that "the playing is tight, sparse, and energetic, with that Mexican organ played off against neat guitar licks and a tight rhythm section." ''
The Buffalo News
''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York.
It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...
'' praised the "pumping staccato organ and the drawling harmonies." The ''
Cambridge Evening News
The ''Cambridge News'' (formerly the ''Cambridge Evening News'') is a British daily newspaper. Published each weekday and on Saturdays, it is distributed from its Milton base. In the period December 2010 – June 2011 it had an average daily c ...
'' panned the album, labeling it "bland, irritating, dated and full of jumpy, up-beat Sixties Searchers-type songs." The ''
Omaha World-Herald
The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area.
It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ...
'' considered the lyrics to be "painfully thin."
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
wrote: "How someone as old wave as Doug Sahm hooked into the new wave of the 80s is not exactly so mysterious if one examines the rich stylistic makeup of the Sir Douglas Quintet repertoire, and how so many of these grooves were finding their way into the sounds of the so-called new wave era." Reviewing a reissue, the ''
Edmonton Journal
The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network.
History
The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...
'' stated that "Sahm never had any problem switching gears or focus as he was a true chameleon, comfortably moving from country to rock to blues to Tex-Mex music over the space of three or four releases." In 2012, the ''
Houston Press
The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017.
The publication is supported entirely ...
'' opined that the band "gives Joe King Carraso & the Crowns a run for their money when the still-bizarre Tex-Mex/New Wave craze was at its height."