A Meeting of the Minds
Budman | El Dorado Hills, CA United States | 12/13/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Officially, on the album anyway, the artist is credited as ABBC,which is neither a new alphabet nor ABBA misspelled. ABBC stands for Amor Belhom Burns and Convertino, which is another way of saying this album is a collaboration between the Amor Belhom Duo and Calexico. And the Tuscon sound is in full bloom on this disk. While one track is a repeat of one found on the Amor Belhom Duo's Wavelab Performance release (albeit an alternate take), the rest are true to the sounds established by both groups on their separate releases. The dry lyrics shared via laid back vocals, the jam-like workouts that include various percussion implements (particularly evident on the 13 minute plus "The Wrestler's Masque"). The Joey Burns song "Gilbert" is a standout, as is "Je Voudrais me Rappeller" co-penned by Naim Amor and frequent collaborator Marianne Dissard (who guested on the standout Calexico track "Ballad of Cable Hogue" from their latest "Hot Rail" release). Tete a Tete is a good album, not a great one, but one that fans of either group will want to have. It does display the kind of unique sound that is great to find and makes one wonder just what's in the water down there in Tuscon. Maybe more musicians should be drinking it."
For completion, mainly
Daniel Ucko | 08/10/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"If you're a fan of Burns and Convertino in Calexico, you might be interested in this as a way of completing your Calexico discography. I do not, however, find this record all that interesting. While some tracks like "La Valse de 24 Heures" are arrestingly haunting, others like "The Wrestler's Masque" descend into minimalism and never really grab hold of you. The 3 stars above may be unfair, but on a scale that includes Feast of Wire by Calexico any higher rating would just be grade inflation."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1