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
General
Label: |
Bear Family (Germany)
|
Release date: |
November 1992 |
Performers: |
Tompall Glaser
|
Format: |
|
Categories: |
Music >
Country
|
LSN: |
XMJ-9T9-HLB-4 |
Barcode: |
4000127156051 |
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Disk 1
1 |
It Never Crossed My Mind |
2 |
Bad Times, The |
3 |
What Are We Doin' With The Rest Of Our Lives |
4 |
How I Love Them Old Songs |
5 |
On Second Thought |
6 |
Drinking Them Beers |
7 |
My Mother Was A Lady |
8 |
Duncan And Brady |
9 |
Easy On My Mind |
10 |
Wonders Of It All, The |
11 |
Storms Never Last |
12 |
You Can Haver Her |
13 |
Release Me |
14 |
Tennessee Blues |
15 |
Come Back Shane |
16 |
It'll Be Her |
17 |
It Ain't Fair Medley: Look What Thoughts Will Do / Pretty Words / It Ain't Fair |
18 |
Sweethearts Or Strangers |
19 |
Let My Fingers Do The Walking |
20 |
I Just Want To Hear The Music |
21 |
My Live Would Make A Damn Good Country Song |
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