Texas Tornados - Hangin' on by a Thread

Album number three from the Texas Tornados (and the last until a short-lived reunion four years down the line) followed the same path as their first two entries -- which is to say, if it was fun and came somewhere from the great state of Texas, you'll find a taste of it here. With "Guacamole," Augie Meyers finally penned a fitting follow-up to "(Hey Baby) Que Paso"; Freddy Fender shows off his strong but silky pipes on the up-tempo "A Mover El Bote" and the weepy "I'm Trying"; Flaco Jimenez celebrates both the accordion and the bottle on the heartbroken "Ando Muy Borracho"; and Doug Sahm serves up a lot of rock and a little reggae on the title cut and "La Grande Vida." While the tex-mex influences dominate more strongly on Hangin' on by a Thread than they had on the first two albums, the album also sounds a bit more cohesive as a result, and Sahm's more rock-oriented material still displays a strong sense of the aural and cultural cross pollination that makes Texas music (and the Texas Tornados) so great. While it hardly sounds like a final gesture, curtain calls were not what this band was about, and Hangin' on by a Thread did make a better final chapter to the Texas Tornados' story than their 1996 reunion album, Four Aces. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alan Monsarrat Bass Augie Meyers Vocals, Vox Organ, Vox Continental, Accordion, Clapping, Organ, Piano Beth Middleworth Design Bill Halverson Vocals, Choir, Chorus, Mixing, Engineer, Producer Cameron Randle Executive Producer Charles McBurney Trumpet David Jimenez Drums David Roach Piano Doug Sahm Guitar, Bajo Sexto, Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (Electric), Vocal Harmony, Arranger, Vocals, Horn Arrangements Ernie Durawa Cowbell, Drums Flaco Jiménez Accordion, Vocals, Vocal Harmony, Trumpet Freddy Fender Clapping, Guitar, Choir, Chorus, Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (Electric), Vocal Harmony, Vocals (Background), Vocals Gary Hickinbotham Assistant, Choir, Chorus, Vocals, Engineer, Assistant Engineer Grahame Smith Mixing Assistant, Assistant Engineer Hank Williams Mastering Harry Stinson Percussion, Drums, Cowbell, Bass, ?, Clapping Henry Brun Conga Jim Cotton Engineer, Mixing Jim Horn Sax (Tenor), Sax (Baritone) Joe Morales Sax (Alto) John Ferrell Engineer, Choir, Chorus, Assistant Engineer, Vocals, Assistant John Jorgenson Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar Laura LiPuma Art Direction Laura LiPuma-Nash Art Direction Lewis Bustos Sax (Tenor) Lou Beach Illustrations, Artwork Louie Ortega Vocal Harmony, Choir, Chorus, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Rhythm) Louis Terrazas Bass Lucky Tomblin Choir, Chorus, Vocals Mike Lawler Synthesizer Neil Walker Vocal Harmony Oscar Tellez Shaker, Bajo Sexto Paul Natkin Photography Phil Mezzetti Engineer, Assistant, Assistant Engineer Robert Overton Guitar Rocky Morales Sax (Tenor) Shawn Sahm Guitar (Acoustic), Arranger, Guitar, Vocal Harmony Speedy Sparks Bass Stuart H. Dill Executive Producer Texas Tornados Producer, Arranger Todd Culross Mixing, Engineer, Mixing Assistant, Assistant, Assistant Engineer Wally Doggett Drums Willie Weeks Bass