James Kahn - Matamoros  (click on image to watch video)

 21 February 2020

Author and musician James Kahn’s latest album Matamoros doubles as the soundtrack of his Civil War novel of the same name. The interconnected projects showcase Kahn’s talents while painting an honest picture of a contentious time in American history.

Various characters cast in a story set in 1862 and occurring in the Rio Grande border towns of Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas get their own theme songs suiting their backstories. For example, an Irish folk song helps us meet an Irish immigrant, a blues song accompanies a starving Rebel deserter’s plight and the band plays a waltz for a genteel Southern lady.

As for the songs, Kahn paints vivid pictures through such old-timey folk songs as the harmonious “La Llorona,” gorgeous acoustic number “Rio Allie,” galloping string band number “Mighty Fine Texas Rangers” and “Mildred’s Waltz,” which sounds like the moment when Kahn’s alternate history gives birth to country music.

The album stands on its own for those who haven’t read the book (or potential readers wanting a feel for the world in which Kahn’s characters reside).

Past projects for Khan included novelizations of popular films (Return of the Jedi, Poltergeist, The Goonies) and television writer-producer gigs (Melrose Place, Star Trek: Voyager).

Bobby Moore

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