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Music > Country
Tompall Glaser bolted from MGM/Polydor after the success of Wanted!
The Outlaws, the compilation that brought him to the cusp of
stardom, signing with ABC presumably with the intention that he was
bound to follow Waylon and Willie to superstardom. This never
happened, perhaps due to Tompall's inate orneriness, perhaps due to
bad breaks...or perhaps he never quite delivered the right album at
the right time. His two ABC albums -- Tompall Glaser and His Outlaw
Band (which bears too close a title to his final MGM album, The
Great Tompall and His Outlaw Band, suggesting that Tompall may have
been one of the prime reasons the outlaw bit done got out of hand)
and The Wonder of It All, both released in 1977 and both compiled
here on this 1992 Bear Family compilation (for some reason the
order of the two are flipped, with The Wonder opening the disc) --
were decidedly slicker than his MGM recordings, something that
dampens the renegade vibe that was a key to outlaw country. This
wasn't entirely a bad thing, particularly in the case of His Outlaw
Band, where Glaser is teamed with a group of studio pros who can
turn out a tight blues groove that bounced enough to sound like
Southern-fried disco on "You Can Have Her" and "It'll Be Her." That
very '70s vibe holds through the sprightlier sections of His Outlaw
Band -- the medley of Lefty Frizzell and Marty Robbins tunes is
modernized with a bit of fuzz and bass punch, "I Just Want to Hear
the Music" is a macho boast, while "Let My Fingers Do the Walking"
is a slice of polyester leisure suit sleaze -- with the slower
tunes of "Come Back Shane" and Bobby Charles' "Tennessee Blues"
harking back to the melancholy soul that ran throughout Charlie. If
His Outlaw Band evoked signature '70s sounds, The Wonder of It All
is positively steeped in the decade, opening with the fuzz-toned
country-disco of "It Never Crossed My Mind" and the soft, swirling
Fender Rhodes of "The Bad Times." The album keeps flipping between
these two extremes, with the ballads having perhaps just a few too
many accoutrements and the bluesy rockers just a little bit too
slick, gliding by on electric pianos and spangly electric guitars.
Those looking for the earthiness of outlaw may be put off by the
gloss, but there's a certain period charm to the production and the
songs are uniformly excellent, highlighted by Mickey Newbury's "How
I Love Them Old Songs," Bobby Charles' "What Are We Doin' with the
Rest of Our Lives," a reworking of the traditional "Duncan and
Brady," Jessi Colter's "Storms Never Last," and Bill Chappell's
lazy-rolling "Drinking Them Beers." That list confirms that
underneath its desperate-for-a-hit exterior, The Wonder of It All
is a bit of a songwriters album, which may be why it didn't spin
off any singles, for as good as these songs are, they're not
singles and don't quite merit the sound they're given...which could
also be why outlaw country fans never quite embraced this record,
either. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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At His Best
(CD)
Houston David, David Houston
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R132
Discovery Miles 1 320
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Out of stock
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German completists Bear Family have done the world a great service
by painstakingly anthologising the early work of Johnny Cash in
their MAN IN BLACK box sets. The first two volumes collect Cash's
earliest work, including his stellar rockabilly-influenced Sun
recordings. This third installment in the series is no less
essential, though, as it represents some of Cash's most progressive
work. Most of the material included here was recorded during a time
when Cash's iconoclast/outlaw ethic fell in rather serendipitously
with the contemporaneous underground/countercultural movement. Ever
the champion of the underdog and the downtrodden, Cash recorded his
two legendary "prison" albums in '68 and '69, AT FOLSOM PRISON and
AT SAN QUENTIN, which are included here in all their gritty,
near-riot-instigating glory. In the late-'60s, Cash also began
championing the work of contemporary folk-rock singer songwriters
like Tim Hardin, and Cash's version of Hardin's "If I Were a
Carpenter" is a memorable one. The overall impression on this set
is one of an artist who refused to stand still, determined to
pursue his muse wherever it led him.
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Standoff
(CD)
Casey Band Donahew
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R298
Discovery Miles 2 980
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Out of stock
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Oh Death
(CD)
King; Recorded by I'm a Man of Constant Sorrow
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R185
Discovery Miles 1 850
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Out of stock
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Not to be confused with Hank Thompson's similarly titled, classic
album of drinking songs, SIX PACK TO GO: GONNA SHAKE THIS SHACK
TONIGHT is a collection that gathers together a generous 33 tunes
by the honky-tonk hero. Besides the alcoholic anthem of the title
track, there's a wealth of tunes that showcase Thompson's blend of
jazzy Western Swing riffs, boogie beats, and honky-tonk heartbreak.
From the hellbent barroom stomper "Drivin' Nails in My Coffin" to
the crying-my-eyes-out lament of "How Many Teardrops Will it Take,"
this carefully compiled anthology offers a well-rounded portrait of
the country king. Focusing on the roadhouse rockers more than the
ballads, this disc digs deep into Thompson's catalog, eschewing
such obvious hits as "Wild Side of Life" in favor of some of the
less explored areas of Thompson's long, rich career.
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