Terry Allen - Juarez

The Good Thing - October 2020

“...maybe I can convince you that appreciation for Terry’s art, and this is surely art, is widespread. It goes well beyond Texas. In my opinion it’s art that uses a popular form, hijacks that accessibility and familiarity, and says things you’d never expect those forms to say. This is not regional music or regional art—it touches folks cutting onions (now sautéed) here in NYC and wherever folks’ ears and hearts aren’t stuck in a rut.” - David Byrne, 2016

Until just a few weeks ago I had no record lined up for the month of October. The sweet Ethiopian record I was counting on was no longer available (another pressing is under way!). Luckily our rep at Secretly Distribution said, “Check this out” and pointed me in the direction of Terry Allen’s Juarez. I was immediately intrigued by the album cover and as soon as I heard Terry’s voice come in over the piano on “The Juarez Device” I was beyond sold. As I began doing some research about Terry and the album I learned that Terry is a friend of David Byrne (Terry’s wife played the lying woman in True Stories) and that Juarez is considered iconic and called “the greatest concept album of all time” by some. How did I not know anything about this guy? Raised in Lubbock, Texas, Terry got the hell out the second he got the chance and followed the sun to California. He is now better known for his visual arts with pieces in the SFMoma and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Terry was never able to shake his Texas roots releasing Juarez in 1975 and Lubbock (On Everything) in 1979. The original pressing of Juarez was only 50 records! This latest pressing is put out by Paradise of Bachelors. According to Brendan, one of the label’s founders, reissuing Juarez was the primary motivation for starting their label in the first place. I think you will be glad that they did. - Will Pratt, October 7, 2020