Classic Country Albums

Oh I'm so happy you reviewed this album! I've really been wanting to expand my collection of Emmylou and I've been told quite a few times that this a good album of hers. She and Willie Nelson were big pals and I recognize a few of those songs as ones he's performed too. I have to agree with you that she is pretty hit and miss. She'll either blow you away, or leave something to be desired it seems. Love her style though. I'm not one who falls inlove with female country & western singers but she's one of my exceptions. Patsy Cline too, and I'll soon review an album of hers, but I've yet to get my hanRAB on the one I've been recommended.
 
A great bunch of albums you folks have mentioned since I last checked on this thread. Again, a bunch of names I've been meaning to look into for some time but for various reasons have simply never got round to them. The Johnny Cash album there's definitely the one that's just been pushed high up my list of musical priorities - I had a box set of best ofs about 2 years ago, lent them to a flatmate and never got them back, and I've been wanting to re-Cashify my library ever since.

Thanks for reviews :)
 
You guys better download these cause they took me forever to upload, haha. I loaded a few of my personal favorites, and Whiskey River of course.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/w2fzyqnwgef/11 Red Headed Stranger.m4a

http://www.mediafire.com/file/tydqjyxz2uj/05 Hello Walls.m4a

http://www.mediafire.com/file/nxzmuynnwoi/2-11 The Only Daddy That'll Walk The.m4a

http://www.mediafire.com/file/mdnozzjegy3/12 Whiskey River.m4a

http://www.mediafire.com/file/tyne0xniecy/09 If You Could Touch Her At All.m4a
 
Haven't been here in a while, good thread. I'd enjoy reading reviews on:

Buck Owens - Discography
Townes Van Zandt - Discography
Waylon Jennings - The Taker/Tulsa or Lonesome, On'ry And Mean
Guy Clark - Old No. 1
David Allan Coe - Once Upon A Rhyme
Emmylou Harris - Elite Hotel

As for recent material, the genre's mainstream branch has essentially become a blend of pop-rock and overly polished country. Far too glossy and soulless for me personally, so the real gems lie in alt-country with acts such as Richard Buckner, Whiskeytown, 16 Horsepower, and so on leading the way.
 
Great to hear you liked the review :) I was a little concerned Van Zandt would be a little too different from the rest of this thread. As you say, it doesn't exactly sound like the rest of the albums here - a lot more Dylanesque, with a lot of resemblance to early Cohen as well (and, by the way, if you haven't got a Leonard Cohen album yet, if you like the sound of Van Zandt, you'll probably love any one of his first three albums). I agree with the kind of ghost town-type vibe it all has to it - certainly gives it a different kind of edge to it.

Anyway, if you (or anyone else) neeRAB help finding it, just shout!
 
The Soul & The Edge: The Best of Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck
2002
paycheckjohnnythesouldtheedgecover.jpg

Now Johnny Paycheck's talent cannot even closely be compared to that of Willie Nelson or Waylon Jennings or even Merle Haggard but this ol boy has more attitute and guts than all of them combined. Willie Nelson once said in reference to Paycheck "Talk about an outlaw! I ain't got a chance!". And he was right. Unlike other outlaws that added outer influences such as jazz into their music, Johnny Paycheck was 100% country outlaw.

When you want to listen to Johnny, you want to hear him wail out about his time in prison (which he was in and out of constantly) and his rants about U.S. Government taking all the workin man's money. Unfortunately, Johnny Paycheck tried his hand at a few lovey dovey songs which came off almost hilarious and completely unbelievable, a few of which are on this album. ;)

I know what you're thinking. Why is Flower Child reviewing a greatest hits album? Well, I'll tell you. To be frank, Johnny Paycheck is the most inconsistent man in the country music business. Never, in his whole career, did he put out an album that had more than one worthwhile song on it. And since most of the people on this forum are not very familiar with Johnny Paycheck, I would just like to let you guys in on his best music without complicating it. But if you guys end up liking this cat then I will delve further in and review some of his actual albums. Since I doubt that will be the case, I'm just gonna get ol' Johnny done in one thorough sweep.

With all that being said, its time to review.

This album sums Johnny Paycheck up as best as I've seen. Complete with live rowdy performances, songs that showcased his softer side, a narrative about a "beer joint" incident, and the music that really told the world what Johnny Paycheck was all about.


Take This Job And Shove It Paycheck's most famous and recognized song that can relate to millions of people around the world saying what they wanted to say for many years- "Take this job and shove it!". In this song, Johnny moans and groans his frustrations about the nasty factory job he's had for many years and how sick he is of working there. He doesn't leave out his bosses either,

"Well that foreman, he's a regular dog
The line boss, he's a fool
Got a brand new flat-top haircut
Lord, he thinks he's cool"

This song just cracks me up, because of how many times I've heard this same threatening-to-leave gripe session from my family members. And its always the same:

One of these days, Im gonna blow my top
And that sucker, hes gonna pay
Lord I cant wait to see their faces
When I get up the nerve to say..

Take this job and shove it!

11 Months and 29 Days is about a subject Paycheck knows alot about- prison. This one has a classic beginning, with Johnny calling out "A-one, two, three, four" and on que the harmonicas start wailing out their lazy tune. He has a lyric in this song that I particularly like:

"Keep the Lonestar cold,
the dance floor hot when I'm gone
Keep your hanRAB off my woman--
I ain't gonna be gone that long"

Only Hell (My Mama Ever Raised) In this quick number, Johnny tells of his more wilder days and how he wished he was back in the good times with his family when he wasn't getting in all of this trouble.

Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets Even though I think Paycheck is greatly over-flattering himself in this song, I do enjoy it. This one is about a rich woman who has turned Paycheck down many times because he wasn't rich enough and she didn't approve of his way of life. But every time her rich husband is out of town, Paycheck gets a call from her to come over.

She's All I Got
Ragged Old Truck

Colorado Kool-aid This in fact is not a song, but a big windy story about a knife fight narrated by none other than Johnny Paycheck himself. I do believe he was the first to coin the term "Colorado Kool-aid" because of this song
--
An' we was....what's that you say?
What's Colorado Kool-Aid?
Well, it's a can of Coors brewed from a mountain stream.
It'll set you head on fire an' make your kidneys scream

Fifteen Beers
I've Seen Better Days

Someone To Give My Love To I have never been a fan of Paycheck's songs about love, but this is definitely an exception. I find this one much more believable than the others, and it has a fantastic beat.

My Part of Forever
Yesterday's News Just Hit Home Today

(Stay Away) From the Cocaine Train (Live) The song is great in every way, really. The tinge of classic, classic country in its melody mixes well with the atmosphere and lyrics of the song. Paycheck's subject was one that troubled many county artists of that time, including himself, which he sternly warns against. I later found out an interesting tid bit. "The Fall" also did a cover of this song called "Stay Away (Old White Train)".

Me and the I.R.S. This song takes no time at all getting going. The beginning is mass of guitar and harmonica wailing and then Paycheck gets right to the point saying as the first line of the song "Well you can tell those boys at the I.R.S, this ol boy, hell I've had enough!". He pretty much says in this song what you will hear in discussions in small town bars throughout America.

Move The Feminine Touch
You Better On

I Did the Right Thing This was one of Johnny Paycheck attemps at an epically deep and thought provoking song. He failed miserably, and lets just leave it at that, haha.

When I Had a Home To Go To

Barstool Mountain On the other hand, this one is great. He goes back to what he knows a little about. The lyrics are terribly clever in this and it really is just a fun song to listen to.

I Can See Me Loving You Again
Old Violin
All Night Lady
The Outlaws Prayer
 
Yeah, this one's definitely a classy slice of music and no mistake. Pieces Of the Sky and Luxury Liner, as far as her 70s output goes, are two very good albums as well. One of the reasons Emmylou's my favourite country lady (for want of a better phrase) is because she actually took a very convincing change in direction into a more alternative rock territory in her later years, and came up with another two of my favourite ever albums for it. Elite Hotel here has One Of These Days and Wheels on it though, which is reason enough to make it my favourite album of hers bar none.

I'll fess up and say I'm not really so keen on classic country's female singer-songwriters either, but that said I still haven't really explored the genre properly yet. I'm a fan of Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch as well, but they're a bit too modern for this thread really. I'll be looking forward to your Patsy Cline review as well whenever you can manage it - someone I've beewanting to check out for quite a while now. Plus, Elvis Costello's a fan of hers, so she must be good eh :D
 
Honeysuckle Rose​
Willie Nelson & Family
1980

Honeysuckle_Rose_-_Willie_Nelson.jpg

This album may not be Willie's finest cut of all of his albums, but it is one of his funnest and most special to listen to, mainly because of the camaraderie you hear shine through from one end of the album to the other. Willie has never been short on frienRAB throughout his years, and the duets on this album are some of the most genuine and dynamic in classic country history.

As you already may have guessed, this album is the soundtrack to Willie Nelson's movie of the same name. As for a quick and painless synopsis of Nelson's movie- I would say that its a good thing he can sing and play guitar because the man is no actor! :laughing: Anyway and more importantly, the music from the movie was golden and made up for the lack of acting skills. Because when Willie plays his music, their is not one ounce of acting involved- partly because in the movie, he played in front of a live crowd of hundreRAB of people which helped.

Some of my more favorite pieces from the albums are the two performances by he and Emmylou Harris. I was very dissapointed with the choice of Willie's on-screen wife, Dyan Cannon, because I am not a fan of her voice whatsoever and she had to do quite a bit of singing on the movie. But I couldn't have asked more from the band, Willie, and his guest appearances. A few of these songs you guys may recognize and a few may be new to you, but overall this album had some very memorable performances that were made during this album and I hope you guys enjoy them.

On the Road Again (Willie Nelson)
Pick Up the Tempo (Willie Nelson)
Heaven or Hell (Willie Nelson)
Fiddlin' Around (Johnny Gimble)
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (Willie Nelson)
Working Man Blues (Jody Payne)
Jumpin' Cotton Eyed Joe (Johnny Gimble)
Whiskey River (Willie Nelson)
Bloody Mary Morning (Willie Nelson)
Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again) (Dyan Cannon, Willie Nelson)
I Don't Want to Do Windows (Hank Cochran)
Coming Back to Texas (Kenneth Threadgill)
It's Not Supposed to Be That Way (Willie Nelson)
You Show Me Yours (And I'll Show You Mine) (Willie Nelson)
If You Could Touch Her at All (Willie Nelson)
Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground (Willie Nelson)
I Guess I've Come to Live Here in Your Eyes (Willie Nelson)
Angel Eyes (Emmylou Harris)
So You Think You're a Cowboy (Emmylou Harris) I would like to point out this song in particular on the album, just because of its pure brilliance. One thing I did like about the film was that it showed Nelson messing around his guitar contructing this song while at home while watching his son, and then the next thing you know its up on the stage with Emmylou Harris singing it and making it a hit with Willie on guitar. The lyrics really are great and very much worth listening to.
Make the World Go Away (Hank Cochran, Jeannie Sealy)
Two Sides to Every Story (Dyan Cannon)
A Song for You (Willie Nelson)
Uncloudy Day (Dyan Cannon, Willie Nelson)

I would also like to point out that almost all of these, whether Willie is singing or not, include him in the background on guitar with his band.

[YOUTUBE]0-sWVuKomIE[/YOUTUBE]
 
I'll see what I can do good buddy



Man, it seems my Willie and Family Live album went over like a screen door on a submarine :( , but don't give up on me guys I'm working on my next review
 
Ah, so that's where that Emmylou song you told me about comes from! I've been on the lookout for some good more good soundtracks lately, so I may just have to give this one a go. Especially with Emmylou being on it (hers being far and away one of my favourite in country music and all). All of which reminRAB me, I should probably talk up one of her albums in this 'ere thread sometime soon.

Funny you should mention Willie being no actor, as I can't remember any musician who's consistently as spellbinding on the silver screen as they are behind a pair of stereo speakers. Tom Waits' performance as Renfield in Dracula was quite good (unfortunately the rest of the film was awful), and David Bowie did so well in his lead role in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (one of my favourite ever war movies that). As for most of the rest of the films I've seen him in, it was like watching a chair giving the odd monologue every now and then.

Anyway, nice short 'n' sweet review that. As soon as I'm over the Dead Can Dance bender I'm on now, I'll have a look for it :D
 
I'm sure I've heard that name before. Couldn't put a sound to it though. Cheers for the rec though, I'll give him a spin.

Speaking of an Englishman getting to grips with proper country, I might actually have another review I could do here. It's an album of country standarRAB covered by a very famous English musician and, while not a classic, is certainly a great place to start for a beginner or someone who's just curious about the genre. With your permission Flower Child, I'll do a review of it here (and no, it's not an Elvis Costello album ;)).
 
I just listened to Nanci Griffith's Last of the True Believers for the first time last night (kinda at random, wont get into that, lol). And I actually enjoyed a good portion of it. It's a very Stevie Nicks sheep-bahing/yodley voice she has, but it's also very pretty too. Some of the songs are also just a-grade, though there's a couple of MEHers. Your opinion of it? And if you're savvy to her material, does she have better stuff?
 
I know you're not asking me, but hey.

Other Voices Other Rooms is a top album, so I say you give that a try. I couldn't say if you'd think it's any better than the album you mentioned though as I've never come across that one myself. Still, I'd say it's worth the gamble.
 
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