Search - Robert Earl Keen :: The Party Never Ends

Wit And Fun...Texas Style

K. Fontenot | The Bayou State | 04/12/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've never heard Robert Earl Keen on any station excepting the local NPR station out of Lafayette, LA. I heard him on a show called "The World Cafe." Normally, the NPR crowd is a little too "out there" for me, but "The World Cafe" cranks out some good stuff every once in awhile. Keen fits perfectly on NPR because he isn't one of those plastic country artists we hear on the country stations, but he's ten times as talented as most of them are.



So why is Keen so unknown outside of Texas and NPR? Because he does his own thing, and that's what I love about this album. It compiles some of his better known tunes(or so I've heard, since I've only heard two of his tunes)and has a few live performance moments as well. Those live moments are what won me over. I'd love to see this guy live.



My favorite songs on this album include "Copenhagen," "Mariano," "The Five Pound Bass," and the wonderful live version of "The Bluegrass Widow." If you enjoy Texas artists such as Gary P. Nunn, you'll love this guy's music.



Some argue that his voice is lacking, but the instrumentation and lyrics of each song are pure perfection. He's sort of like Jerry Jeff Walker in that his voice isn't the best, but it gets the message over in such a way that you are captivated into listening to him talk about things like Texas Pride beer and the wonder that is Copenhagen. You'll laugh your way through most of this tunes, but certain songs, especially "Mariano," stick out as some of the most serious country music around these days.



Robert Earl Keen is pure Texas fun and pure Texas proud, and this Louisiana boy highly recommends this album."

Great intro for Robert Earl Keen fan -- new or old...

K. Justice | Meridian, Mississippi United States | 09/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is a perfect mix of some of Robert Earl Keen's most "popular" songs -- and a great introduction for the new REK listener... My peronsal favorite Robert Earl Keen CD is "Walking Distnace", but some of it is a bit more mellow. This CD is a good compiliation of some of his most well-known songs... I would recommend this album to any Robert Earl Keen fan -- new, old, or as yet undiscovered!!!"

At the price a stellar introduction

Jeremy Ulrey | Austin, TX | 08/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The usefulness of this CD is restricted almost solely to those who are just getting into Robert Earl Keen. This CD also only represents one side of REK, but considering the wealth of essential material the neophyte has to wade through this is only fitting. As the title would suggest, this is a collection of his more uptempo anthems, primarily life affirming singalong tunes (though often death and heartache lurk right around the corner). From a marketing standpoint this had to be a no-brainer. The average newbie is probably going to get into Keen through either his oft-covered "The Road Goes On Forever" or the cheeky "Merry Xmas From the Family". What this collection won't show you is that Keen also has a more introspective, plaintive side, but again: there's enough classics in that idiom to fill a future volume of their own. And this is not to say that Keen's more "rocking" country songs are completely mindless: even the aforementioned "Merry Xmas...", which is often passed off as a Dr. Demento-worthy novelty track, is a perceptive cross-section of your prototypical Texan dysfunctional family. Similarly, "Road Goes On Forever", despite it's singalong chorus and racing fiddles, is at minimum the country version of "Smuggler's Blues", an empathetic tale of two down-and-outers and a botched drug deal which would have set them for life. Ultimately, the main reason to buy this CD is the sell-through price: unless you somehow - incredibly - don't like what REK has to offer, you're going to find yourself seeking out the rest of his CDs sooner or later anyway. If you feel adventurous might as well dive right and start with "Gringo Honeymoon" or "No Kinda Dancer"."