DEAN OWENS - The Man From Leith (Eel Pie)

DEAN OWENS has been a leading light on the Scottish & Americana scene for the past 20 years, and before that, as part of The Felsons.
“The Man From Leith (The Best Of Dean Owens)” (Eel Pie Records) has just been released, which is a great catch up on his career, if you’ve missed any of it. It features 17 self penned original tracks, scanned from seven different albums from 2001’s “The Droma Tapes” through to “Southern Wind”, released in 2018.
Dean’s appeal to me has centred around the inspiration that his homeland has played in his music. That’s evident from the biographical “Man From Leith” (about his dad) , which opens the album, through “Dora”,  ”My Town” and “Closer To Home”, to “Raining In Glasgow”, an appreciative tribute from a songwriter from Edinburgh.
But he isn’t afraid to tell of other places too, whether it be “New Mexico”, or on “Southern Wind” (one of two co-writes with Will Kimbrough, which feature on the album – the other being “The Last Song”).
Some of the stand out songs for me include “Whisky Hearts” and “Strangers Again”, which features Scottish folk singer Karine Polwart.
“Elvis Was My Brother” has always been one of my favourite tracks, and is featured here, as Dean recalls his childhood, and one of his main influences.  Johnny Cash was also an important influence, leading to his involvement in the “Cashback In Fife” Festival last month. Dean recorded “Cash Back – The Songs I Learned From Johnny” back in 2012, and features “The Night Johnny Cash Played San Quentin” here.
Dean has been involved in several other projects in recent years, including Buffalo Blood, Redwood Mountain, and a Hank Williams tribute, which don’t feature in this collection. But it does cover a good selection of songs from his 7 solo albums. The album is complimented by sleeve notes by author Irvine Welsh.
As well as CD and digital versions of the album, there’s also a 10 track LP version available.
This is a great catch up collection of one of Scotland’s Americana troubadours”!