This two-for-one disc, remastered from the original tapes, combines two of Joe Ely's very best recorded works; in fact, Honky Tonk Masquerade was picked by Rolling Stone as one of the best albums of the 1970s. The energy and intensity delivered here remain true to his stage shows, and those who have seen him know that he takes nothing back to the dressing room with him, as it is all left on the stage. The band has that tightness that only comes from years of constant touring and playing to all kinds of crowds. This is roots music before it was a genre, heightened by the energy of the musicians' believing in the music they are playing. The songwriting is exemplary, as the songs are primarily by Ely, Butch Hancock, and Jimmie Dale. The latter two are known mainly as songwriters, and have begun to get some recognition for their own discs. Early versions of the songs hold up to later versions, which is the sign of a strong song. There is a beautiful rendition of "If You Were a Bluebird," which inspired the title of an Emmylou Harris LP and became a big hit for her. This collection of rocking roots country music from one of the hardest workers around gives ample indication of the work to come. The energy heard here comes from a combination of dedication to craft, good songwriting, and the desire to give it all each and every time. At the same time, this disc contains some of the best work this performer has done. Three cheers to BGO for combining these two previously hard to find discs. ~ Bob Gottlieb

Since he first hitched a ride out of Lubbock, Texas, at the age of sixteen, singer-songwriter and Flatlanders band member Joe Ely has been a road warrior, traveling highways and back roads across America and Europe, playing music for "2 hours of ecstasy" out of "22 hours of misery." To stay sane on the road, Ely keeps a journal, penning verses that sometimes morph into songs, and other times remain "snapshots of what was flying by, just out of reach, so to savor at a later date when the wheels stop rolling, and the gears quit grinding, and the engines shut down." In Bonfire of Roadmaps, Ely takes readers on the road with him. Using verse passages from his road journals and his own drawings, Ely authentically re-creates the experience of a musician's life on tour, from the hard goodbyes at home, to the long hours on the road, to the exhilaration of a great live show, to the exhaustion after weeks of touring. Ely's road trips begin as he rides the rails to Manhattan in 1972 and continue up through recent concert tours with fellow Flatlanders Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock. While acknowledging that "it is not the nature of a gypsy to look in the rearview mirror," Joe Ely nevertheless offers his many fans a revelatory look back over the roads he's traveled and the wisdom he's won from his experiences. And for "those who want to venture beyond the horizon just to see what is there . . . to those, I hope these accounts will give a glint of inspiration . . ."