The Last of the True Believers
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
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Editorial Review

The album cover shows Nanci Griffith standing outside a Woolworth's, holding a book of poetry--a recurring motif in her album art--while lovers dance behind her. That combination of the most quotidian, small-town details and the most committed but rarely pretentious poetic ambition is the key to Griffith's art. Her fourth and final album for Philo, a quiet masterpiece of the Texas singer-songwriter's style, weaves together a spunky, newgrass sound (courtesy of Bela Fleck and Mark O'Connor) and songs of leaving home and leaving lovers. --Roy Kasten ... Read more

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• Enhanced

Reviews (11)

A Must Own Nanci Griffith Album! - Beautiful Sounds
Never did I ever think I'd be listening to a female vocalists that has the sound in her voice I'd been looking for the past 2 decades...
20 years too early
this sounds like today but it was yesterday.

One of her best works
every song is a jewel

after buying it once - I'd buy it again
A definite must have!

GREAT CD
NANCY IN THIS CD HITS HER TOP, THE MUSIC AND THE SONICS ARE JUST PERFECT.
WARMING LYRICS.
AGAIN THIS A "MUST"

songwriting at its very best
I second all the other reviewers. To me, I find that this album puts Nancy Griffith in an exclusive class among the very finest of songwriters of our time. "Ponchartrain" does something few writers can do: write eloquently about the love of place, and to do it with melody that carries the words as freely as the spirit in those words. I WANT to see Lake Ponchartrain someday because of this song. There is so much going on in these lyrics... setting the scene with that other French-American locale, Montreal, and, like a lover who finds absence makes the heart grow fonder, realizes she must go back.In short, a simple sounding tune that is layered with a lot more than meets the ear initially."Love's Found A Shoulder", is like diamond-cutting-- so exact in word choice that that the reult is so beautiful you cant really see the effort that went into it. Some day, as others have said, I really hope this writer gets a wider respect. Those of us who have found Nancy Griffith's songs know already that we have a founda true musical artist.I simply don't know of a better songwriter, regardless of genre or gender. ... Read more

Asin: B0000003S0
Subjects:  1. Contemporary Country    2. Country    3. Country-Folk    4. Folk & Traditional    5. Pop    6. Singer/Songwriter   

Gringo Honeymoon
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (26 July, 1994)
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Editorial Review

His hair isn't as electric as Lyle Lovett's, and his life isn't as tragic as Townes Van Zandt's, but Keen is the sort of literate songwriter Texas produces by the bushel. Joe Ely is a big fan of his songs, covering "When Kindness Fails" and "The Road Goes On Forever", but Keen has been recording low-key albums of his own since the mid-'80s. His ability to capture the lives of nickel-and-dime losers is reminiscent of Raymond Carver one minute, John Prine the next. On Gringo Honeymoon, Keen proves he can funny--his "Merry Christmas from the Family" is a wicked take on holiday dysfunction--and overall it's his most consistent album. The only misstep is "Barbecue," a slight appreciation of wood-smoked meat that feels obvious and forced. --Keith Moerer ... Read more

Reviews (17)

One of the best albums of the past ten years
Robert Earl Keen is an acquired taste kinda like drinking scotch or eating hot sauce in a true tex mex cafe. But once acquired you cant get enough. Brilliant song writer and every song on this album is a winner. But Dreadful Selfish Crime is too painful for this ol Texas redneck to listen much too. Hits to close to home. Do your self a favor buy it listen and enjoy.

Amazing
REK shines live.I've never enjoyed a live performance more by any other artist.

Makes me feel like I'm 20 again
Robert Earl Keen was recommended to me by a friend who had previously introduced me to music of Iris DeMent ... he hit the nail on the head then, and has done it again!(2 for 2 ... pretty good shooting so far!)
This album is pure pleasure, if like me, you define "pure pleasure" as an evening spent in the company of some long-lost friend where the conversation gets better as the hour grows later.There's not a sour note to be found anywhere, and every song sounds like I'm listening to that long-lost friend catch me up on the things that have happened in his life.In some ways, Robert Earl Keen might be said to be "the Flying Burrito Brothers Meet Tom Waits".This album is THAT good. ... Read more

Asin: B000000EX5
Subjects:  1. Alternative Country    2. Contemporary Folk    3. Country    4. Country-Folk    5. Pop    6. Progressive Country    7. Singer/Songwriter   

Lucinda Williams
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (16 June, 1998)
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Editorial Review

Because this 1988 album produced hits for others ("Passionate Kisses" for Mary Chapin Carpenter, "The Night's Too Long" for Patty Loveless), Williams is best known as a songwriter. She certainly deserves the rep: her "Side of the Road," for example, expresses the tension between loving another and remaining yourself better than any song ever written. But what makes this album so special is her voice. When she sings about wanting to visit "Crescent City," she packs more sheer longing into her delivery than even the greatest of songs could express. And, bonus, Lucinda Williams is chock full of great songs.--David Cantwell ... Read more

Reviews (63)

Where it all started and still may be the best
Often critics catch up with an artist long after they've been doing great stuff and usually, they refuse to admit that they missed the earlier albums.Instead they assert that somehow the artist has suddenly become much better than before. Call it human nature or cowardice. Either way, that's what happened with Ms. Williams because this album shows she was writing fabulous songs long before Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.

This eponymous CD was her first venture out of folk.And what a venture it was.Almost all of these songs have been subsequently covered by other people over the years. Why? Because some of them are amazingly good. A couple of them are incredible.

In a lot of ways, the high points on this CD are much better than the high points on Car Wheels. And since I'm inclined to value an artist on their best songs rather than the overall quality of the CD, I'd say this is a better album than the one the critics raved about.

Some people don't like this CD because it has a stronger country flavor than her more recent releases. That's just prejudice against country music - the "if it has twang it must be dumb" phenomenon. And it's probably true that one of the reasons that Ms. Williams is less country sounding now is that she's acceded to that prejudice. People can't get past labels. That's their problem.

The production on this album isn't the best. Her vocals, then as now, are simply passable. But the same can be said for Dylan's albums too. And a few of these songs are on Dylan's level. Things don't get any better than this.

"Bad" Lucinda is still a treasure
It's the album that put Lucinda on the critical map, but it's admittedly not my favorite - songs like "The Night's Too Long" and "Like a Rose" are uninspiring and forgettable.Still, even as I would prefer every subsequent album she's put out (there's not a lagging one in her collection), this self-titled release has its handful of unforgettable gems - the melancholic ode to dance clubs, "Crescent City" is fun and whistful in the same breath, "I Just Wanted to See You So Bad" is alive and exciting in a way that's rare for Lucinda to venture into, and, of course, there's "Side of the Road," one of the most humane and empassioned adult songs of Williams's career - few songs have ever sung aobut the desire for independence within a stable relationship so charismatically.She's made masterpieces since this record, but few artsts could ask for an album even of this quality.

Will she marry me...
I am completely in love with this album.It seems to fill a space that no other music ever fills.I've heard her compared to Bob Dylan, but that's only because she's an excellent songwriter, same as Bob.This album has a few songs that are just absolute stand outs.They are:"Somethin' About What Happens," (acoustic version) "Like a Rose," and above all, "Abandoned."

If you read any of my other reviews, you'll find this message is often present:Why doesn't country music radio and the industry in general embrace this remarkably talented artist along with some others?It's as if there is someone down in Nashville who says, "If we keep pushing garbage, country music will disappear..."Maybe that's what they want.

Anyway, buy this album.I guarantee you will not be disappointed.This woman is a living legend. ... Read more

Asin: B000007NYS
Subjects:  1. Alternative Country-Rock    2. Alternative Folk    3. Americana    4. Contemporary Folk    5. Folk-Rock    6. Pop    7. Rock    8. Singer/Songwriter   

Letter to Laredo
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (29 August, 1995)
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Editorial Review

As a teenager, Joe Ely wandered about Lubbock, Texas, on weekend nights, listening to the Mexican farm workers strum guitars and sing their lilting corridos. Those formative experiences are reflected in Letter to Laredo, which draws a line of Spanish-American influences--both thematic and musical--from the cowboy music of the West Texas ranch country, across the Rio Grande River to the mariachi music of northern Mexico, and across the Atlantic Ocean to the gypsy music of Spain. In contrast to the hard-edged roots-rock feel of Ely's best known work, this project has an acoustic folk-rock feel, created by the convergence of Teye's flamenco guitar, Ponty Bone's Tex-Mex accordion, Lloyd Maines's honky-tonk steel guitar and Ely's own Dylanesque harmonica. Several of Ely's compositions--most notably "Run Preciosa," "Ranches and Rivers," and the title track--recall Cormac McCarthy's novels about penniless cowboys on the run from the law and angry fathers. In the same vein is Tom Russell's "Gallo del Cielo," a wonderful story-song about a Mexican peasant who steals his village's best fighting cock and carries it across the border in search of his fortune, and Butch Hancock's "She Finally Spoke Spanish to Me," a sequel to an earlier Hancock song recorded by Ely, "She Never Spoke Spanish to Me," which was itself a response to the old standard, "Spanish Is the Loving Tongue." Longtime Ely fan Bruce Springsteen adds high, howling harmonies on two songs, including "All Just to Get to You," a worthy sequel to Ely's "Settle for Love" and "For Your Love." --Geoffrey Himes ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Does it again.
I must say you know this world is in trouble when Joe Ely isn't on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry CMA awards night in 1995 performing "Gallo Del Cielo" and sweeping the awards all for this CD.

Unlike most Alt. Country artists, Ely has his own sound and style.He could sing anyones song's and make them his own.

All songs here have a tex mex/cowboy flavor.I could have actually seen Marty Robbins releasing this album, if that says anything.

Plus, I'm a stickler for good album artwork, and the cover of this Cd is a classic.

The pleasure goes on forever...
The knock on Joe Ely records has been that compared to his live performances, his studio products seem a bit flat. I agreed with that assessment in regard to his recent "Twistin' in the Wind" CD, but I love "Letter to Laredo." I think every selection works, and fits well with the others. These kind of songs clearly come off better in studio versions than they would in the roadhouses. Joe just found the right songs, the right style, the right help, even the right order of the tunes, on this project. For my taste, it's the best record I've heard from him since 1978's "Honky Tonk Masquerade." That's just my opinion, and I have not heard every record, or seen Joe live, although he often performs in Lubbock, just 100miles up the road from me. I'm a fan, however, just the same. If you like Joe at all, I cannot imagine you won't love "Letter to Laredo."

Gorgeous Tex-Mex
I'm a big fan of a lot of Texas songwriters: Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, etc., so I expected to like this album.But instead, I love it.

The flamenco guitar on most tracks give it a feel similar to Willie Nelson's album "Spirit", but with more explicitly Latino and Texas narratives and more of a rock and roll drive.

Ely is a great songwriter, with a gift for precise, striking images full of character -- you know EXACTLY what Saint Valentine looks like.He's also a wonderful interpreter; the cockfighting ballad Gallo Del Cielo, for instance, is beautiful and tragic and very true. ... Read more

Asin: B000002OVN
Subjects:  1. Country-Rock    2. Pop    3. Progressive Country    4. Rock   

Barricades & Brickwalls
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (12 February, 2002)
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Editorial Review

The hard-edged title cut kicking off this disc suggests that Kasey Chambers might be exploring an entirely different frontier than she did on her 2000 debut, The Captain, but the dozen tracks that follow are much more in line with the sparkling country-folk of her first album. That's good, because at this early stage in her career, there's no reason for Chambers to stray from her obvious strengths: simple but honest lyricism set to tastefully twangy instrumentation and spiked by her alternately sweet and sassy voice rising straight from the South (even if, in her case, it's South Australia). Various guest vocalists add breadth to the proceedings, with results that range from slightly disappointing (Lucinda Williams on "On a Bad Day") to effectively reflective (Paul Kelly on "I Still Pray") to wondrously evocative (Buddy Miller on"Runaway Train") to downright transcendent (Matthew Ryan on "Million Tears"). Mostly, though, it's Chambers's confidence and charm that shines brightly and clearly. --Peter Blackstock ... Read more

Reviews (64)

do not believe lucinda williams or steve earle!
if you come across this cd in a record store (as i did), you may find a sticker affixed to its plastic wrapper, a sticker that features glowing commentary, indeed, veritable praises for young ms. chambers from both lucinda & mr. earle. apparently, both of these fine musicians were drunk (or something) when they listened to ms. chambers' music (or played with her, as lucinda does on 1 cut on this cd); they are not to be believed at any cost! i made the mistake of buying this stinker of an album based on their kind words; the store that i sold it back to subsequently this past january (and i tried giving it a while, a few listens first) still has it in their used bin. 'nuff said...

Dolly Parton on helium
Listening to Kasey Chambers is like listening to Alvin and the Chimpmunks cutting a country record.Either that or its like listening to someone kill a cat that's on helium with another cat that's also on helium.Her voice is so helium-based it is hard to get past this to take in the self-conscious helium stylings that comprise the helium record.At the beginning of one helium track, the candid listener hears "are we on?we're recording now?"Including this "outtake" in the helium record is the very height ofbaseness and unoriginality.After that, we are treated to helium gospel stylings, with lyrics like, "I still pray (to Jesus) because he died to save my soul"Aw gee.Ain't that swell?Seems Helium Sally is quite the theologian.Maybe she should lay off the helium long enough to actually read the bible rather than just parroting received phrases, but whaddo I know, I'm not even on helium.

Wonderful
I first heard Kasey when my mom bought her CD, and since then I have been constantly borrowing it. It's just wonderful. Kasey is able to turn everyday emotions into wonderful, wonderful songs. I absolutely love this CD and I wish that other will hear her amazing talent, too.
1. Sort of a rock song, but not really. Very good. 4/5
2. I love this song. Shows feminism and the real meaning of beauty. 5/5
3. I didn't like this song. Good lyrics, but not the best. 3/5
4. Allright. Like 1, is a rock song. 3.5/5
5. This song annoys the crap out of me. Just a bit ttttooo country for me. 2/5
6. A very, very beautiful song that I could relate to ("I will learn to live in a new town/but my heart is staying here. ")5/5
7. Also a lovely love song. Very beautiful 5/5
8. Okay. 4/5
9. My favorite song! It is just gorgeous and beautiful with perfect music, lyrics, everything. 6/5
10. Allright. 3/5
11. My mom's favorite song. Is a very good song for self-esteem. Is a very good feel-good song. 4.5/5
12. First song is good, but IGNORANCE is breathtaking. Instead of hearing Britney Spears singing about flat "love" songs, you can listen to Kasey on the guitar singing about the unnoticed problems that the world has ("if you're not p***ed off at the world, then you're just not paying attention"). Just so beautiful, and for a good cause. I STILL PRAY: 4/5 IGNORANCE: 5/5
I promise you that it you buy this CD, you will not regret it. ... Read more

Asin: B00005V0WK
Subjects:  1. Alternative Country-Rock    2. Australia    3. Country-Folk    4. Country-Rock    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Singer/Songwriter   

Harvest Moon
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (27 October, 1992)
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Editorial Review

When Neil Young seems about to zig, he zags. Two years after 1990's loud Ragged Glory, he retreats to an old world of steel guitars, gentle folk melodies, and pristine country choruses. (That's Linda Ronstadt, who helped make 1972's Harvest a hit album, singing backup on the follow-up.) Young name-drops Hank Williams, Jimi Hendrix, and his old dog, King, in rich reminiscences about the musical ride he and his fans have shared since the late '60s. The album, as Young sings in "One of These Days," is "a long letter to all the good friends I've known." --Steve Knopper ... Read more

Reviews (62)

WHEN I THINK OF A "SOLID" ALBUM...
...I think of American Recordings by Johnny Cash, The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen, A Liturgy, A Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band by Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band, and this one--Neil Young's Harvest Moon. These are the four CD's (of popular music, as Amazon calls it) in my entire collection that do not have a weak song on the disc. Harvest Moon is the most laid back of the four (it is aptly named: it is the perfect CD for a lonely Autumn evening).

This CD joins the symphonies of Robert Simpson, Harvest Home by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, and the two Appalachian albums put out by Yo-Yo Ma and his crew as some of my top listening material for the Fall.

Songs like Harvest Moon and You and Me are the perfect songs for reflecting about what Poe would call the "days of yore." I know this is a personal interpretation, but these songs bring to mind the seemingly endless Autumns of my teenage years. With this music on, I can picture clearly riding a ferris wheel or a tilt-a-whirl with the numerous ghosts of girlfriends past.

Old King brings to mind my own great dog--Jake--now dead and gone for more than a decade.

Natural Beauty is the one Great song on the disc. Its haunting melancholy beauty tinged with just the slightest bit of hope exemplifies the whole effect of this album. Too bad this song is scratched on my copy. (I may pony up the cash just to get this song back someday--it is that good.)

Well...so ends my reflection, my midrash on Harvest Moon. Convinced? You should at least give this album a chance--you won't be sorry.

I give Harvest Moon my highest recommendation.

Don't listen to the other reviews, Highly Overrated
This is at best a decent NY album, but it certainly doesn't deserve 5 stars.I own most of Neil's albums (including his 80s output) and this is probably the album I listen to the least.It's very accesable pop/folk, without much substance.If your not a big Neil fan and like your music easy to swallow than this is for you, but if your looking for something deeper and ultimately much better try Neil's classic 70s albums (Tonight's the Night, Time Fades Away, On the Beach, etc) or the album that came directly before this, the amazing, Ragged Glory.

If YouOnly Buy One Neil Young Album, This Is The One To Buy!
I own all of Neil's albums. So I can be biased.But this one is special.Each song on it is a classic; classic lyrics, classic sound, classic Neil.I've had to replace this Cd from wear and tear. It's the only one I've worn out. It's timeless.It's perfect. ... Read more

Asin: B000002MG4
Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Country-Rock    3. Folk-Rock    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Singer/Songwriter   

One Fair Summer Evening
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
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Editorial Review

Nanci Griffith first built her audience through intimate, well-timed, and energetic concerts. This live set, recorded in August 1988 at the legendary Anderson Fair in Houston, contains her best performances of originals like "Workin' in Corners," "The Wing and the Wheel," and "Love at the Five and Dime," as well as songs by Bill Staines, Eric Taylor, and Julie Gold, songs she helped bring just shy of fame: "Roseville Fair," "Deadwood, South Dakota," and "From a Distance." Griffith learned her craft and got her chops down at Anderson Fair, and her gift for narrative shines brilliantly in her (often hilarious) between-song stories, and her unaffected, twangy whisper. She's backed by the subtlest and most sympathetic of bands, the Blue Moon Orchestra, and there's nary a misstep, a rare thing for a live album. --Roy Kasten ... Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (32)

Live Nanci is a Triumph
What a wonderful recording. It is full of gems like "Roseville Fair" and "I Would Give You Ireland."

This CD gives you a good feel for the unpretentious, soulful way of Nanci.What you see is what you get and what you get is beautiful.

How good is she?
This one is a gem. This is what a live album should be. Especially the acoustic sound of "Trouble in the Fields" is sensational! It is a must buy!

A BIG FAN
I HAVE BEEN A FAN OF NANCI GRIFFITH SINCE SHE DID " FROM A DISTANCE" I LOVE HER PLAYING AND HER ABILITY TO WRITE SONGS.I WOULD LOVETO HAVE HER MAKE MORE DVD'S.I HAVE PURCHASED MOST OF HER CD'S AND HER ONE DVD.PLAN TO SEE HER WHEN SHE COMES TO HUNTSVILLE, AL. THANKS,JENNIE SCOTT ... Read more

Asin: B000002PID
Subjects:  1. Contemporary Country    2. Folk & Traditional    3. Pop    4. Singer/Songwriter   

Cruel Moon
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (19 October, 1999)
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Editorial Review

Like a finely tuned engine, Buddy Miller's third HighTone album has no superfluous parts, no fuel that isn't transformed in the hottest combustion. Its power is inseparable from its economy. Drawing a straight line between blues, country, and rock & roll, Miller gets a thick, gigantic sound out of just guitar, bass, and drums; when he expands his tight arrangements, he relies judiciously on Al Perkins's steel guitar, Tammy Rogers's fiddle, and harmony from wife Julie Miller, Steve Earle, and Emmylou Harris. Every big backbeat, every twangy note illuminates these stinging country songs (some cowritten with Julie and Jim Lauderdale, some borrowed from Earle or Pops Staples) of haunted hearts, memories that won't die, and love so strong it can kill you. If you're new to Miller, think of a country Richard Thompson: an eccentric but classic-sounding guitarist; a feverish, instinctive singer; a roots-music seeker; and one of the most driven and versatile artists working in 1999. --Roy Kasten ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Kicking myself for not finding this one sooner...
Thank God for 92.1 FM in New Braunfels, Tx. My business trips to San Antonio have turned me onto more good music in the past year than I've found in the past ten!

Buddy Miller is one of the best they've turned me onto - and all I can say is WOW!!!

This is what "country" music should be. I use country in quotation marks, because like me, Buddy has a wide range of tastes.

This whole album is awesome, but may I particularly call attention to:

"In Memory Of My Heart" and "Sometimes I Cry". If your eyes don't tear up on "In Memory", check your pulse because you might be dead!

Can't recommend this one highly enough - buy everything Buddy has ever done, and you will be a very happy camper indeed!

Great...I want the rest of the albums...
I saw Buddy and Julie perform last weekend, and it was a great show, with Buddy barely taking a breather. He is a very generous performer, coaxing amazing sounds from some gorgeous guitars, adding vocal harmonies or belting out his own broken-hearted, feelin' sorry for himself lead vocals. I enjoy this album and all the others I've heard so far. He and Julie are a dream team.

This guys a back up band ?
I first saw Buddy Miller live when I went to see Emmy Lou Haaris. He is the lead guitarist for her band - Spy Boy.But he was the opening act too - and he blew me away. This was not country music. It was a mix of bluegrass, rock and roll, and ballads. This CD is just that. A mix that will appeal to someone with an ear for the eclectic, will appeal to someone who likes a guitar that will not quit and will appeal to someone who likes a musician with an incredible range. ... Read more

Asin: B00001WRL3
Subjects:  1. Americana    2. Country    3. Country-Rock    4. Neo-Traditionalist Country    5. Pop   

Live at Antone's
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (06 June, 2000)
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Editorial Review

Joe Ely's self-titled (and currently out-of-print) 1977 solo debut, imbued with his stark, West Texas flatlands milieu, hit many like a Southwest tornado. Since then, Joe Ely has become an admired cult figure who epitomized alt country and Americana years before those terms existed. Each decade, he's been captured onstage, beginning with 1980's Live Shots and 1990's Live at Liberty Lunch, making 2000 the right time for number three. These muscular performances, recorded at Austin's famous roots-music club, show Ely's dauntless energy undiminished by time. Roaring performances of "Me and Billy the Kid," "Everybody Got Hammered," "All Just to Get to You," and his ebullient, gender-bent satire "Nacho Mama" make these old favorites seem new and fresh. Jimmie Dale Gilmore's "Dallas" revisits Ely's days in the Flatlanders with Gilmore and Butch Hancock, and his comparable good taste extends to his masterful interpretations of Tom Russell's cockfight epic "Gallo del Cielo" and Robert Earl Keen's "The Road Goes On Forever." Few artists with similar mileage can maintain their edge in the studio, much less onstage. It's no surprise Ely is one of that select group. --Rich Kienzle ... Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (18)

Best Live Album
I won't try to top the other reviewers - they're right! I do believe this is the finest live album ever.

For proof, just buy it and listen. After fifteen songs, you don't think it's possible to up the ante. But Joe and this amazing band do just that. After all the great songs and solos, after the abolutely brilliant second guitar solo, the last verse of Oh Boy! cranks it up one final time to the peak.

Can't wait for 2010.

Not Enough Stars in the Universe to Rate this Album
As a son of the South Plains that was transplanted to VA, I grew up on stories of Joe and the Lubbock gang, Tornado Jams, Stubbs-the original, etc. Unfortunately chances to see Joe, to say nothing of Jesse or Lloyd, are always few and far between in these parts, but thankfully Live @ Antone's captures this group, along with Teye and the incredible Joel Guzman, at their very best. No studio accurately captures the energy and furry with which this group plays, and if this album doesn't give you chills then you may want to check your pulse. Chances are that if you're reading this then the songs are familiar and there's no need to go into detail. All that really can be said is, BUY THIS ALBUM!

Stunning CD!!!
I've been a casual listener of Country music for the last decade or so. I've generally preferred artists like Dwight Yoakum and Mary Chapin Carpenter, "tweeners" that don't always get the airplay on today's country radio airwave stations (thankfully, satellite radio has solved that, with channels like XCountry on XM Radio). Every so often over the last few years I'd hear a song by Joe Ely and make a mental note to keep an ear out for more of his stuff. A few weeks back, I heard the live version of Gallo del Cielo on XM Radio ... it was the first time I'd ever heard the song and loved it. Literally the next day I got an e-mail from Amazon for Joe Ely's Millenium Collection (you know the old "based on your past purchases, we thought you might like this" e-mail). I bought that CD and, after reading several of the reviews here, rolled the dice and bought Live at Antone's. I can't recall ever buying two CDs at once for an artist I was previously unfamiliar with. It was an excellent move!!! I've probably listened to the Live at Antone's 30+ times already, and it gets better and better.From the opening song on, this album flat-out impresses. Gallo del Cielo is a classic "crank the volume and sing along and I don't care what the people in the car next to me think" song. Ranches and Rivers, Road Goes on Forever, All Just to Get to You, Me and Billie the Kid, Up on the Ridge, Everybody got Hammered ... they're all wonderful songs, perfect for his voice, and accompanied by a top-notch band. If you like to roll the dice every once in a while and take a reach on a new (to you) artist, start with this CD. ... Read more

Asin: B0000258R3
Subjects:  1. Americana    2. Country    3. Country-Rock    4. Pop    5. Progressive Country   

Loose
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (18 October, 1994)
list price: $11.98
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Editorial Review

When quirky folk songstress Williams emerged from her falling out with Geffen Records, she laid down this deft and stirring album with little guys Mammoth. The transition didn't hurt a bit. Enlisting the help of friends like Dave Pirner and Mike Mills, Williams produced this jittery, sometimes downright loopy, batch of songs. Loose may not stand among her crowning accomplishments, but tracks like the bluesy "You R Loved" and the quasiretro "Polish Those Shoes" may wind up in her greatest hits repertoire. If the album feels a bit self-indulgent, that's only because Williams knows where to find her most compelling material. --Nick Heil ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Eccentric and brilliant
When I taught a fine arts survey course, I asked each student to bring in a favorite song to share with the class. One student introduced the class and me to Victoria Williams. I was so ecstatic about her, I went out and bought Loose. I have listened to this CD countless times and still marvel at the talent of this artist. What I especially want to share is that Victoria Williams was in the first class of Conversational French I taught at Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport, LA. She was eccentric and brilliant even then as a senior in high school. After 34 years of teaching and now retired, I can admit to having all-time favorite students. Vickie was one. The other kids did not quite understand her quirkiness even then in 1974 after a decade of quirkiness. I recently replayed Loose on a road trip and made my brother listen to it. A country music lover, he finally had to admit, "Her voice kind of grows on you." What I hear is honesty, integrity, a deep appreciation for nature, people, and Christ's redeeming love, that eccentricity, and her sublime brilliance in every song.
December 19, 2003
Since I reviewed Loose, I bought all Vic's others. This woman/child is Soooo talented!!!! Every CD is a brand new experience in brand new ways. I am a BIG fan of this supremely talented artiste!! I highly recommend ALL of her CD's.

Readerjpol2@aol.com

Loose, by Victoria Williams.
When I listened to this CD for the first time, it really made me think about the things she was saying. After I listened to it again, some of the topics made more sence and really made me have a good feeling. She is very good at expressing herself in her music and I share many of the same ideas and tastes as her.

a moving and sincere effort
This CD has to be one of my favourite of all time. The songs are all sung with such sincerity that even the most cynical amongst us can't help but warming to her songs about her grandparents, love, growing up in the deep south and other themes that seem alien to modern day music. Her music is a pot-pourri of influences making classifying her difficult - definately roots-folk but with enough rock (with members of REM and Soul Asylum moonlighting here) and jazz influences to spice up her unique blend. Her slightly high-strung voice can take some getting used to but the emotional depth of her songs more than offset any effort incurred... ... Read more

Asin: B000002JSD
Subjects:  1. Folk & Traditional    2. Pop    3. Rock   

Live At Billy Bob's Texas
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (05 February, 2002)
list price: $15.98 -- our price: $15.98
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Editorial Review

Hag's first live record of the 1990s finds him, at age 62, in strong form as he skims the cream from his own remarkable songbook. His voice may not have the sheer force of his younger years, but his singing is full of attractive nuances and passionate depth. His finely tuned band is another asset here, most notably Telecaster magician Redd Volkaert, who has digested all of Roy Nichols's classic licks and has incorporated them into his own risk-taking style. Longtime Stranger steel player Norm Hamlet, fiddle legend Johnny Gimble, and Hag's "best boy," ex-wife, and harmony singer Bonnie Owens all make vital contributions. Haggard also pays homage to his three main idols with covers of Bob Wills's "Ida Red" and Lefty Frizzell's "That's the Way Love Goes" plus his own brand-new addition to Jimmie Rodgers's "Blue Yodel" series called "Motorcycle Cowboy/Blue Yodel #13." --Marc Greilsamer ... Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (13)

As Advertised:"The Ultimate 'Hag' Album"
Considering how long Merle Haggard has been not only a recording artist but an absolute GIANT in the industry it's really surprising that there aren't a lot more live compilations of his work out there.

This one's been around for a few years and as a career retrospective/greatest hits/REALLY WELL-RECORDED live set it is awfully hard to beat, especially on a single disc.I'd have to short-list this as one of the concerts throughout the history of music I would have really loved to have attended.

Whether you enjoy crying in your beer or just drinkin' it, Merle has got you covered in "The World's Largest Honky-Tonk", Billy Bob's of Texas.The crowd is obviously into it, the band is absolutely sharp as a tack, and Merle's sixty-something year-old whiskey-aged voice has never sounded better.The overall sound mix is terrific; all instruments are heard clearly and the lead/back-up vocal arrangements are superb.This has to have been one of the best concerts the man has ever played.

The songs themselves are a primer to country music history, and certainly offer as good an introduction to Hag's work as anyone could hope for.Possibly the only standard missing in this set is "The Fightin' Side Of Me", but with "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink", "Workin' Man Blues", "Silver Wings", "Swinging Doors", "The Bottle Let Me Down", "Misery & Gin" (notice a pattern here?), "The Emptiest Arms In The World", "Mama Tried", "Today I Started Loving You Again", "Okie From Muskogee" (of course), "Big City", and "If We Make It Through December" (the song most responsible for getting me through my own layoff in 2003), you get a reall phenomenal collection of music played with a vibrancy that frankly studio recordings (even Hag's) just don't seem to pull off.

Just an incredible set...see this guy live if you get half a chance; if you can't see him, but this CD.Any country music or Southern Rock fan needs to own this.Anyone who was ever remotely curious as to why Merle Haggard is as well-regarded as he is needs only to listen to this CD once to understand completely.

Believably awesome album
This is simply one of, if not the best, Merle album available on the shelf.Great recording.Great song selection.As a native Texan, patron of Billy Bob's, and Merle fan, I honestly and unequivocally recommend this album to the true country music lover.Great to listen to with a bottle in hand or driving stone cold sober down the road.This is Merle at his best.

Live at Billy Bob's Texas
Merle's band sounds much better live than in studio.The solos are much longer and vibrant on this disc. A must have for Merle fans. ... Read more

Asin: B00000JQXV
Subjects:  1. Bakersfield Sound    2. Country    3. Honky Tonk    4. Pop    5. Traditional Country   

Sweet Old World
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 August, 1992)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $10.99
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Editorial Review

Granted, Sweet Old World isn't the masterpiece that1988's LucindaWilliams is. The too-simple explanations of "He Never GotEnough Love" aren't up to Williams's mile-high standards, and thearrangements throughout are often so similar to that previous release'sthat the melodic differences here aren't as clear as they might'vebeen. But when she raises her vulnerable cry to sing the three, painedperspectives on suicide that are at the heart of this album--the titletrack, "Little Angel, Little Brother," and "Pineola"--Williams's veryhumanity provides its own proof that, while this world can indeed becruel, it can also be oh so sweet. --David Cantwell ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Poignant
This was my first Lucinda Williams CD and my favorite in many ways. Ten years ago it seemed as consistent as her first album, and I admit on re-listening today that it isn't. The instrumentation has become dated, and between that and the New And Improved production on her later releases, I can see how others may have skipped this one or may want to. It would be a loss, though, not to have this CD that speaks so poignantly to loss.

If I had to pick a single favorite Lucinda Williams song, the title track would be tempting. This song about suicide is her masterpiece, and you're not human if you aren't moved by it.It takes a poet to succeed with such a song. "Something About What Happens When We Talk" was the first of her songs I ever heard and remains a particular favorite. On hearing it I began my arguments with myself over whether her simple lyrics were trite or minimalistic. I eventually decided on the latter, and this song is so very intelligent and evocative, like so many here. The theme of suicide and loss from "He Never Got Enough Love" (those songs about men with abusive childhoods haven't stopped or become more subtle from here to "Sweet Side") through "Pineola" is perfectly realized. I don't have Lucinda's gift with words, but hers is used to remarkable effect in this series of songs.

There are lighter pleasures here, from touching story songs ("Six Blocks Away", "Sidewalks of the City") to a fun, sweet love song like "Lines Around Your Eyes". Even before I had those lines I thought this was a great song, and now that we live in a culture that worships youth like never before, you can't beat the sentiment. "Hot Blood" is often a great song live, but unfortunately wasn't recorded in a way that captured the heat. Still, it's a must-have for any fan.

There are weaker moments. Some of the lyrics on "Prove My Love" seem trite, though others are moving, and it's very country. I find "Memphis Pearl a bit maudlin, but not bad. And the cover of "Which Will" is nice enough, but dispensable.

This is probably not the first CD I would recommend for someone who wanted an introduction to Lucinda Williams. It's musically dated, not perfectly consistent, and that's less true of her first CD or of Car Wheels. Still, the sense of it being a theme album for the first half or so of the recording, and a series of truly great songs - "Something About What Happens", "Sweet Old World", "Little Angel", "Pineola" - and a few that are simple fun - "Lines Around Your Eyes" and "Hot Blood" - are essential for any serious Lucinda fan.

Excellent as Usual
I completely disagree with the tone of the editorial review. This is an amazing album, and Lucinda Williams is an amazing artist."He Never Got Enough Love" is a great song...and completely up to par in my opinion.If you like Lucinda Williams, or you just appreciate great vocals and arrangements, buy it, you won't be dissapointed.

Such Sweet Sorrow
This beautiful album opens with the uptempo Six Blocks Away but soon turns sombre with songs like He Never Got Enough Love, the tender and poetic Sweet Old World (covered by Emmylou Harris on her Wrecking Ball album) and the painful Pineola, a harrowing story about a suicide and funeral. Little Angel, Little Brother is less sad, but gentle, perceptive and poetic too. The mood never seems to brighten after that, although Lines Around Your Eyes is a powerful love ballad and Prove My Love is a melodic, emotionally gripping country song. Sidewalks Of The City is a sad but hopeful Springsteenesque ballad, while Memphis Pearl reminds me of Emmylou's Red Dirt Girl or Joan Baez's version of Love Is Just A Four Letter Word in its theme and mood. Lucinda's sound is a perfect blend of rootsy country, folk and rock that fits her lyrics like a glove. This beautiful, sad and moving album ends, quite appropriately, with her cover of Nick Drake's elegiac Which Will. ... Read more

Asin: B000001A3J
Subjects:  1. Alternative Country-Rock    2. Alternative Folk    3. Americana    4. Contemporary Folk    5. Folk-Rock    6. Pop    7. Rock    8. Singer/Songwriter   

Live Rust
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
list price: $18.98 -- our price: $14.99
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Editorial Review

Mere months passed between the release of Neil Young's mid-career milestone Rust Never Sleeps and this 1979 tour recording, which documents a late-'78 San Francisco performance. Indeed, Live Rust boasts four songs from the album that gave it its name. It's also sequenced in the same spirit as its studio sibling. As with Rust Never Sleeps, Live Rust opens with steady-flowing acoustic numbers before swirling into an electric vortex. What was side 4 off the original two-record version--"Like a Hurricane," "Hey, Hey, My, My," and "Tonight's the Night"--is arguably Young and Crazy Horse at their peak as a live unit, with all due respect to 1991's estimable Weld and 1997's desultory Year of the Horse. Few rock bands rank with Young and his stalwart electric trio, and Live Rust presents them in all their raging glory. --Steven Stolder ... Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (48)

One of the dozen best live albums ever made
It simply doesn't get much better than this. 'Live Rust' presents one of the three greatest male rock artists of all time (Dylan and Springsteen being the two others) and his estimable backup band, Crazy Horse, in all of their full raging and tender glory on what was probably their best tour ever.The set sequencing is perfect and builds to a raging finish --how can you top ending your set with the triumverate of "Like a Hurricane", "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)", and "Tonight's the Night" ?The acoustic set comprises all phases of Neil's career up to that point, including early standouts such as "Sugar Mountain" and "I am a Child".The album, in fact, works just about as well as 'Decade' in being a comprehensive 1970's career summation and shows why many critics picked Neil at the end of that decade as its greatest rock 'n roller --- few artists can sound equally as comfortable going from acoustic folk to hard rock and a punk/grunge sound and back again.He would temporarily lose his footing in the 1980's before 1989's excellent 'Freedom' album put him back on the right path, but 'Live Rust' captures Neil Young at what may remain his all-time career peak as a singer and songwriter.

Now, the question remains: why have so many of rock 'n roll's greatest live performers --- Springsteen, the Who, and U2, just to name three as a start --- yet to put out a definitive commercially-released live album that's as good as the bootlegs ?If Neil can do it, these other guys can as well.

An Outstanding Live Album
I would argue this is Neil's best live album.It starts out with Neil on 12 string guitar and harmonica doing his classics 'Sugar Mountain', 'Comes A Time', and then 'I Am A Child' (in my view his best versions of these songs). Neil then moves to his piano for 'After the Gold Rush' and onto some of his best rock masterpieces, doing songs like 'Powderfinger' and 'Cortez the Killer', again my favourite versions of these songs. He also does other classics such as 'Cinnamon Girl', 'Like A Hurricane', and 'Hey Hey My My'. Apparently some of these tracks, especially 'Cortez' are edited quite a bit from their original LP versions, but personally I don't believe you could ever complain of their quality - they are truly amazing.The guitar work is some of Neil and Crazy Horse's best, the sound and music quality considerably better than his 'Weld' live 2CD album.The DVD is also excellent (I own both), and is a true classic.You can't know Neil until you've heard this.

The #1 reason we should all own a turntable
Imagine, if you will, that Capitol Records chose years ago to put out the Beatles' "White Album" on compact disk when the format was in its infancy, and for whatever reason decided not to invest the funds to put out a double CD, instead choosing to cram the entire thing onto one CD, and advertising it as a "specially low-priced single disk." But in doing so, they found that the whole thing wouldn't fit onto a standard disk, so they hacked about a minute or so out of "Revolution #9" (thinking nobody would notice), eliminated or shortened the silence between songs (if any), and nickel-and-diming the album until it fit just under the time limitations of a single disk. Then pretend that Beatles fans were too blinded by their fanaticism for the album to objectively criticize, let alone realize, the absolute horror of this corporate hatchet job. If this fictitious story sounds too weird for you, then now you know how I feel seeing five-star review after review here, when Warner-Reprise has performed the ultimate sin right under all our noses.

I only recently started amassing a CD collection of Neil, preferring to stick to the vinyl. I figured there will eventually be a remaster job of these albums, although with Neil you never know, and I could wait until then. But I broke down and went ahead and bought "Live Rust" on CD, which is one of my absolute top 10 favorite albums of all time. Knowing the guitar majesty of "Cortez the Killer" on this album better than I know my own date of birth, and having heard it countless times note-for-note, I immediately fast-forwarded to that track and waited for my world to be sonically blown to bits by the digital clarity of the CD, which happened indeed. For about four minutes.

And then I stopped cold. I stared out the window. I was frozen, playing air guitar to notes that were no longer coming out of the speaker, singing guitar parts in my head that weren't happening. "Am I getting that progressed into Alzheimer's already?" I thought, or is this some sort of a defective joke? Well, my Neil fan faithful, I'm here to tell you: the actual track of "Cortez" is approximately a minute and a half shorter than not only the vinyl version, but a minute and a half shorter than THE TIME GUARANTEED TO ME ON THE CD INSERT by good ol' Warner-Reprise. And where did this extra 90 seconds come from? well, it was right there in the LEAD GUITAR parts of the song, right prior to the "hate was just a legend" lyric. They have AXED a huge section of Neil's guitar lead, digitized it out to save space, and done God-knows-what to the rest of the album to give us a low, low price.

I frantically fast-forwarded the track to the end and compared the ending times on my CD player to the one on the CD cover. I was right. And I was disgusted. Then I started REALLY losing it: who was responsible for this? And why in the living name of God could any self-respecting Neil fan put up with the absolute desecration of one of the greatest recorded versions of one of his most jaw-droppingly gnarly songs?

I for one took the CD back. It took me a while to explain to the clerk why, but he chalked it up to a bad mistake on WB's part. Personally, I think their strange urgency in reissuing four of his least-selling albums "remastered with the original cover art" on CD is unusually nice, but I would much rather have a full-blown remastered version of "Live Rust" than anything else in his catalog. Especially now that I know about this hatchet job that sits on the shelf indefinitely, with no plans to improve on it. And Reprise, while you're at the task of putting that 90 seconds of guitar bliss back into "Cortez" that you so thoughtfully took out, go ahead and put out some other songs from that tour that weren't on the original CD to restore my faith in corporate America, because this is more of a disgrace than Watergate, "read my lips", and Monica's dress put together. Get the President on the horn. ... Read more

Asin: B000002KDI
Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Country-Rock    3. Folk-Rock    4. Hard Rock    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Singer/Songwriter   

The MCA Years: A Retrospective
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (26 October, 1993)
list price: $11.98
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Reviews (5)

The Best of Nancy Griffith
This well-programmed single disc anthology is a perfect choice for the unintiated to experience the music of Nancy Griffith.Griffith is a folk artist who ocassionally infuses her music with a little rock and roll energy.What sets her apart from many others of her ilk is her ability to occasionally produce a catchy hook or two.This is particularly true on "Listen to the Radio," "Outbound Plane," and "Love at the Five and Dime."These are songs that can get your feet tapping while also engaging your frontal lobes.Like most folk singers, Griffith is unafraid to tackle the tough topics, like the failure of the family farm ("Trouble in the Fields"), and the debilitating effects parental racism can have on a child ("It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go"), but she mostly manages to do so without becoming too heavy handed.

Overall, an excellent collection of songs from an underappreciated artist.

Way too cool
I bought this album because I have been a fan of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, and others in that vein for years, and I've always heard them compared to Nanci Griffith.This album did not disappoint - it's folky -calming and exciting at the same time, and Nanci shows herself to be agreat songwriter, musician, and also a great storyteller with introductionsto songs like "Love at the Five and Dime."I'd say this is amust have!

Next best thing to a live performance!!
We saw her live last year in Atlanta. This is the next best thing to a live performance. Growing up in west Texas probably wasn't all that different from growing up in northern Louisiana. "Trouble in theFields" and " Gulf Coast Highway" are my favorite cuts. ... Read more

Asin: B000002OQ1
Sales Rank: 84279
Subjects:  1. Contemporary Country    2. Country-Folk    3. Folk & Traditional    4. Pop    5. Progressive Country    6. Singer/Songwriter   

The Great Divide
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (15 January, 2002)
list price: $13.98 -- our price: $13.98
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Editorial Review

Though Willie Nelson has previously demonstrated that he can sing just about anything with just about anyone, The Great Divide shows there are some bridges even he shouldn't cross. An incongruous array of duet partners join Nelson on this attempt to attract a younger and wider demographic. The project follows the formula that paid such commercial dividends for Carlos Santana, down to the collaboration with matchbox twenty's Rob Thomas on the opening "Maria." Nelson proceeds to engage Kid Rock in a transgenerational gunslingers' duel on "Last Stand in Open Country," reaches a more comfortable accommodation with neo-soulster Brian McKnight on "Don't Fade Away," and meditates on the aging process with three melancholy ballads ("This Face," "Recollecting Phoenix," and "You Remain") that are likely to confound the pop-rock crowd the project seems so intent on converting. The rest of the material ranges from Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" to the psychedelic chestnut "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)"--already revived by Nelson on 2001's Rainbow Connection. Only the Gypsy-tinged title song rings as true as one typically expects from Willie. --Don McLeese ... Read more

Reviews (84)

Willie attempts Santana's Supernatural...
I have never been a fan of Nelson...his voice is so thin, but I am a fan of this album. It's Willie's attempt at mimicking the success of Santana's Supernatural (it even has three Rob Thomas songs!) and that's why it works for me. Other guests are Lee Ann Womack, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt & the one goof...Brian McKnight. He also covers Cindi Lauper's "Time After Time" & The First Edition's "Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In" It's a pretty safe bet that this will be the only Willie Nelson CD I will ever own, because it's not really Willie...only sorta Willie.

Not for "traditional" Willie fans.
If you like traditional country than you may not like this, it's rather different, good different not bad different.Most songs are pretty popesque rather than traditional country.I like (not love but can listen to some) Willie Nelson music and this is not like that but well worth a try just don't expect old Willie style music.

From the King of duets...
There is one unique man who has written traditional country standards, performed duets with international pop icons, made a couple of movies, lost everything to the IRS and built a cult following of rednecks and hippies. Willie Nelson is musical genius who always seems to have one more rabbit to pull out of his hat...or his pigtails, or whatever Willie Nelson pulls his rabbits out of. The red-headed stranger has handed us one more unique compilation with The Great Divide.

The Great Divide is made up of a dozen songs that have little in common with one another. The album has everything from haunting, gypsy sounds to light pop sounds to contemporary country . Many of the songs are exceptional, while others are so weak that they leave gaping holes in the flow of the album. The album consists of six songs in which Willie teams up with his contemporaries in pop music and country. Willie has always been a brave duet partner and has sounded completely natural on duets with a variety of vocalists, including Merle Haggard, Ray Charles and Julio Iglesias. For the most part, The Great Divide continues the Willie Nelson tradition of outstanding collaborations with duets with Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas, country vocalist LeeAnn Womack, bad boy rocker Kid Rock and long time Willie fan Sheryl Crow. Willie teams up with Rob Thomas for "Maria," an up tempo tune with a Latin flair.Willie's partnership with Lee Ann Womack produces "Mendocino County Line," the first Willie tune in ages to be played by mainstream country radio. The third track is a surprising standout as Kid Rock drops his screaming, rapping image to add his vocals to the chilling "Last Stand in Open Country." The Sheryl Crow duet, "Be There For You" provides a unique, but catchy beat laced with strong vocals. Collaborating with Brian McKnight on "Don't Fade Away" is just an unnatural stretch, even for Willie Nelson. The song leaves an awkward hole in the middle of the album, almost making the listener forget that this is the legendary Willie Nelson. On the final track, Willie is coupled with Bonnie Raitt on "You Remain," a mediocre song that is, for the most part unmemorable. Willie's work on "Recollection Phoenix" and "This Face" lends itself to a pop sound that is just a little too artificial for the folks in Luckenbach.Willie also goes out on a limb with pop remakes such as Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In.") Perhaps the most moving and Willie-esque song is the title track, situated in the middle of the album. "The Great Divide" was written by Willie Nelson and is the standout song on the album, with that evocative, lingering guitar pluck that Willie is known for. ... Read more

Asin: B00005UNEA
Subjects:  1. Contemporary Country    2. Country    3. Pop    4. Progressive Country   

The Live Album
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (07 October, 1993)
list price: $16.98 -- our price: $16.98
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Features

• Live

Reviews (12)

Confusing for Texans
Keen is from the A&M area of Brenham. I'm from Iowa. I gigged with a Houston band last January, including a bar in Brenham.

I suggested we do "Road" or "Gringo" or "Sonora" or any of Keen's stuff. The band sneered.

Some Texan musicians are just plain jealous of this guy's writing. They should be. This album is a great place to start finding out why.

Best Robert Earle Keen Jr. Album
The best one of the lot by far.

Great CD to take on the road with you!
I love this CD. I listen to it at least 3 times per trip when we are hauling horses. Skewball and Going Down in Style are wonderful songs. I wish more country music people would be brave enough to sing and wright like that! ... Read more

Asin: B000000EW6
Sales Rank: 11741
Subjects:  1. Alternative Country    2. Contemporary Folk    3. Country    4. Country-Folk    5. Pop    6. Progressive Country    7. Singer/Songwriter   

Folk City: 25th Anniversary Concert
by Folk City
Average Customer Review:
VHS Tape (19 January, 1996)
list price: $12.98
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Features

• NTSC

Reviews (1)

THE GREATEST EVENING OF FOLK
The first thing I noticed was that these musicians actually like one another from their interaction, which can't be said about alot of corporate stars. The performances are all good, but the film and sound quality is only fair. I would give a slight edge to "The Troubadours of Folk Music"(1994), but you can't go wrong with either one.The majority of the big names are here - Joan Baez, Melanie, Peter Yarrow, Arlo Guthrie, Suzanne Vega, Frank Christian, Richie Havens, Odetta, Ferron, Roger McGuinn, The Roches, Eric Andersen and others. The reliable Folk crowd seemed to have a good time and got a couple of laughs from Tom Paxton's "Yuppies in the Sky". ... Read more

Asin: 6301826639
Sales Rank: 53067
Subjects:  1. Music Videos - Folk   

Lay It Down
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (27 February, 1996)
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Editorial Review

In 1996 the Cowboy Junkies could have gone one of two ways: they could have veered away from their familiar melancholic, somber sound or dug deeper into the groove. They chose the latter. Margo Timmins's distinctively sleepy, seductive vocals never sounded better--here she perfects the art of the subtle attack, best exemplified by the radio hit "A Common Disaster." The band knows when to pull back (it lays a spare, delicate foundation for her wispy words on tracks like "Something More Besides You" and the achingly beautiful "Now I Know") and when to let a groove build ("Speaking Confidentially," "Lay It Down," "Come Calling"). "Angel Mine" wears the band's love for country music plainly on its sleeve, and the stunning "Bea's Song" shimmers. A definite highlight in the band's career. --Lorry Fleming ... Read more

Reviews (42)

As heavy as they ever got....
No one would ever accuse the Cowboy Junkies of being a rock and roll band, but their first album for Geffen Records found them turning the volume up a degree or two. "Lay It Down" is the most electric of the CJ's many records, yet the truly amazing thing is that the band loses absolutely nothing of their original charms. While the music may be a little denser and a touch louder, Margo Timmins never lets the sonics intimidate her subtle manner of singing.

Nowhere is this more evident than "Lay It Down's" best known song, "Common Disaster." Moving at a near pop song clip, the blues bassline and somewhat distorted guitar offer a tasty hook over which Margo sings brother Michael's tale of revenge planning ("I cut the list to one and you're name's on top"). It's one of the strongest songs of the CJ's career. Through the course of the Junkies' albums, one of the most consistent factors has been Michael's writing and "Lay It Down" is no exception. The his and hers versions of "Come Calling" show his love of country irony, and "Bea's Song" is a gorgeous entry that should find its way into someone else's record someday. He is, without question, one of the most underrated songwriters of the past two decades. With "Lay it Down," the second best album from the Cowboy Junkies treasure chest of recordings, he and his band continue to prove why their cult remains as strong as ever.

Shattering
This is the first CJ album that I purchased.A friend of mine was playing it in her car and I had to do a double take when I heard it.Now, I own every CD that the CJs have done.Honestly...this is the best of all of the CJs albums.Alot of people think that Trinity Sessions is their best.I would strongly disagree.Lay it Down and Pale Sun, Crescent Moon are their two best musically, lyrically and vocally.If you are gonna start, start with Lay it Down and then move to PSCM.This album is one of my top ten CDs in my entire collection (and I haveHUGE collection).It is stark and haunting and hits you hard in the gut.Despite criticisms to the contrary Margo's voice is powerful and subtle at the same time.I've seen her live and she can belt it out when she wants.Her restraint is part of the overall CJ ambience.
Frankly, I don't think there is a single band out there in the last 10 years who can even touch the CJs when it comes to lyrics.Maybe October Project got close--but the depth and beauty of the lyrics on this album are amazing.
This is a "must own" album from one of the most underrated bands of the last 20 years.

Excellently Written, Excellently Performed
I first discovered the Junkies with the "Black-Eyed Man" release and loved it very much."Lay it Down" shows the group growing artistically and Margo's voice gets more heavenly all the time.This is easily one of the best releases of the mid 90's!!The title song "Lay it Down" is delightfully haunting - the bass guitar in this song is phenominal as is the dreamy, haunting music to carry the lyrics of the song."Angel Mine" is an acoustical gem and should have been a #1 radio hit."Musical Key" and "Lonesome Sinking Feeling" are ballads that highlight the low-key beauty of Margo's vocals.I can't decide which version of the song "Come Calling" I like best.I enjoy "His Version" because it is so uptempo and fun; yet "Her Version" is very haunting and sends chills down my spine like the title cut does.I enjoyed hearing all the string instruments in "Speaking Confidentially".This whole CD is such an acoustical masterpiece - shame on the music buying public for not making this a big hit!!I highly recommend this CD to any Cowboy Junkie fan. ... Read more

Asin: B000000OUY
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Live Shots
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (17 August, 1993)
list price: $9.98
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Editorial Review

Recorded in the U.K. in 1980 when Ely was opening for The Clash, Live Shots is a frenzied shot of live rock & roll, west Texas style, with the fierce electric and pedal-(steel)-to-the-metal guitars of band members Jesse Taylor and Lloyd Maines. Although not as accomplished a live set as his later Live at Liberty Lunch, Live Shots remains the best document of Ely's rock-out phase; a driving, relentless cover of "Not Fade Away" particularly stands out. The quieter ballads are what'll bring you back, though, especially moving versions of Jimmie Dale Gilmore's "Treat Me Like A Saturday Night" and Ely's own "Honky Tonk Masquerade." --David Cantwell ... Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (3)

"Desert Island Disc"
There is only 2 live albums that brought that cold chill down my spine the first time I heard them. The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East and Joe Ely's Live Shots. It simply doesn't get any better than this. In 1979 the Clash went on tour with Joe Ely on a trek across Texas. In 1980 the Clash returned the favor by letting Joe come over to England to tour with them. You either have to be crazy or confident to open for the Clash in front of a bunch of punk rockers. But Joe Ely has a kind of energy and presence on stage like no other performer I've seen. And you can tell by listening to this album, even these punk rockers couldn't hold back their enthusiasm. The Clash thought enough of Joe Ely to invite him into the studio to help them record "Should I Stay Or Should I Go". One of their biggest hits. Joe's has released 2 live albums since this one, but thisholds a special place in my heart because of all the singable and very memorable songs on here. If you don't like songs like "Fingernails", "She Never Spoke Spanish To Me", "Johnny's Blues", or "Wishin' on You", you might have to have your pulse checked. All the songs on here have so much crossover appeal to them, it might even appeal to the spiked haired set.

The Next Best Thing To Being There
Joe Ely is one of those rare artists whose songs improve in a live setting--not that his first three albums that this set derives from aren't all terrific and should be part of your collection as well.But with therecent release of his third live album (Live at Antone's), I'm reminded ofwhat a terrific collection of songs this 1980 release is.This was asuperb live band featuring lead guitarist Jesse Taylor and accordian playerPonty Bone.

Recorded during an English tour with The Clash, Ely tearsthrough originals like "Fingernials" and "Johnny'sBlues," along with rave-up versions of "Honky Tonkin'" and"Long Snake Moan."

When I bought this on vinyl when it firstcame out it included a 4-song EP, which is included on this CD as the finalfour tracks--the highlight is the Buddy Holly classic "Not FadeAway."

This is high octane stuff.Ely's brand of country/rock andTex/Mex is riveting and deserves to be heard by a wider audience.HIGHLYRECOMMENDED

Live Joe - You Can't Beat It!
This live album captures Joe with his original band - Jesse, Lloyd, Ponty and the sax player who was last seen blowing his horn in tune with a Harley. Recorded when Joe was touring with the Clash.One of the finestlive bands ever assembled.A truly great recording of one of the best liveperformers around. ... Read more

Asin: B000002OO2
Subjects:  1. Country-Rock    2. Outlaw Country    3. Pop    4. Progressive Country    5. Rock   

Once in a Blue Moon
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
list price: $16.98
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Editorial Review

Notable for her meditations on relationships, the ties that bind families ("Mary and Omie"), and the journeys that threaten to break lives apart ("I'm Not Driving This Wheel"), Nanci Griffith continued to stretch the boundaries of folk narrative with her third album. Musically, the arrangements are perfectly in keeping with her previous acoustic orchestrations--Griffith's records may seem spare, although the layers of cello, mandolins, and Dobros add signature texture--but lyrically she pushes beyond easy melancholy and into the weightier subject of love's struggle against time and distance. --Roy Kasten ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Among Nanci's Best
"Once In A Very Blue Moon" is not Nanci Griffith's best album (that honor goes to its follow-up "The Last of the True Believers"), but it is near the top of the list.

"RosevilleFair," "Daddy Said," "Ghost In The Music," Maryand Omie," "Love Is A Hard Waltz" and the title track arejust a few of the superb songs that grace this album.It belongs in anyNanci Griffith's fan library.

Buy it for Roseville Fair
Overall, not as good as "Last of the True Believers," which I still believe is the purest Nanci Griffith album, but "Roseville Fair" is worth the price of admission. It's not one of her own songs,but she makes it hers with the delivery. Don't overlook this album in favorof the more heavily produced material of the later 80s and 90s. ... Read more

Asin: B0000003RF
Subjects:  1. Folk & Traditional    2. Pop