| Tales from the Austin Motel | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Debbie Davies |
| Cover: | Tales from the Austin Motel.jpg |
| Released: | 1999 |
| Recorded: | January 1999 |
| Genre: | Blues |
| Label: | Shanachie |
| Prev Title: | Homesick for the Road |
| Prev Year: | 1999 |
| Next Title: | Love the Game |
| Next Year: | 2001 |
Tales from the Austin Motel is an album by the American musician Debbie Davies, released in 1999.[1] [2] Davies supported the album with a North American tour.[3]
The album was recorded in Austin, Texas, over the course of two weeks in January 1999; its title refers to the motel where Davies stayed.[4] Davies was backed by the Double Trouble musicians Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon.[5] She was inspired by the Austin bluesman W. C. Clark.[6] Davies wrote or cowrote seven of the songs. "I Just Want to Make Love to You" is a cover of the Willie Dixon song.[7] "Atras de Tus Ojos (Behind Your Eyes)" is an instrumental.[8]
The Chicago Tribune concluded that "neither her deep, strong voice nor her barrage of slide solos distinguishes Davies from dozens of similar blues singer-guitarists.[9] CMJ New Music Report called Tales from the Austin Motel a "landmark of an album [that] is certainly one of the best blues records of 1999."[10] The Independent said that the "mostly enjoyable set of shuffles evokes the Texas tradition."[11] The Telegram & Gazette wrote that "a fine balance is struck between the bawdy and the mournful."[12] The Philadelphia Inquirer determined that "her economical guitar solos have plenty of bite."
AllMusic noted that "some may quibble that the recording is a little too crystal clear to really capture the nasty Austin sound they strive to achieve, but the trio does have a dynamic interplay."