After a health crisis nearly sent Escovedo to that great music hall in the sky, he's made an effort to shake himself out of his rocker-meets-mourner comfort zone. His last album, The Boxing Mirror, recorded by John Cale, broadened the songwriter's already broad scope. Real Animal, on the other hand, looks backward, paying tribute to the artists who inspired him and delving into his young punk roots. "Chelsea Hotel '78" recalls Escovedo's stint in the infamous dive during the same time Sid Vicious flopped there; "Nuns Song" covers his days in the notoriously ramshackle outfit the Nuns; "Golden Bear" tips its hat to Ashes to Ashes-era Bowie; and "Real as an Animal" tackles the one and only Iggy Pop. Escovedo saves plenty of room for good old fashioned roots rock, too, on "Sister Lost Soul," the feisty "Smoke" and "Always a Friend," proof that even nearing 60 he still knows his way around rock and roll better than most songwriters half his age.

-- Joshua Klein