Search - Johnny Lee :: Live at Gilley's

A disappointment

Christopher J. Lakrin | Nashville, TN | 03/21/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This is an extremely poor sounding and lackluster performance from Johnny Lee. I have always been a fan of Lee's work, as well as of live recordings, and was excited when this release was announced. I was hoping this recording would transport me to one of the great honky tonks at the height of its popularity. However, Lee appears to merely be going through the motions (and sounds downright bored on some tracks) and this CD fails to capture any excitement whatsoever. The terrible sound quality (it almost sounds like a monaural television soundtrack) doesn't help matters. Those who experienced Gilley's in the 1980s may find more historical value in this recording than I do. However, for me, the only attributes saving it from a one star rating are the interesting liner notes and the overall quality of the songs. Anybody interested in Johnny Lee is strongly advised to stick with the excellent Warner Brothers greatest hits package, which contains far superior versions of virtually all of the songs contained here."