Search - Various Artists :: Lonesome, On'ry And Mean: A Tribute to Waylon Jennings

Carlene Carter Returns?

p_bauer | 04/18/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Not quite sure what the first reviewer is talking about...But, check out her other bizarro reviews by clicking her name. OK, now onto the CD: There have been a slew of this country tribute CDs, featuring a bunch of artists whose contributions pale mightily compared to the person they are feteing. Which raises the question: Why listen to a collection of covers by lesser artists? In the case of Waylon, though, his music is so vastly underappreciated and has not been widely covered by others. This is among the first time many of his classics have been touched by anyone else. That makes Lonesome Ornry and Mean at least a little more interesting than the tribute records to Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, the Beatles, etc. Particularly interesting: The return of Carlene Carter on Waylon's semi-autobiographical "I've Always Been Crazy." Given Carter's plight in recent years, the ease with which these lyrics fit her is eerie. She's not in great voice here, but I still hope this marks her return to active recording. Much better is Norah Jones's killer "Wurlitzer Prize" (back in the day, the under-appreciated flip side of the "Luchenbach Texas" single). And, wow, does "Good Hearted Woman" fit Guy Clark's style to a tee. "Let's All Help the Cowboy Sing the Blues" is an odd cover by Jack Clement -- odd because he wrote it to begin with. Junior Brown's "Nashville Rebel" is great -- a rarely heard song with Brown doing his best Waylon imitation. "Waymore's Blues" is such a great song that it can't be marred by a reconstituted Crickets. Allison Moorer acquits herself well on "Storms Never Last," though this is actually from the Jessi Colter catalog (admittedly, Waylon and Jessi did a duet cover of this in the 1980s). Kudos to Kristofferson for covering an underappreciated Highwaymen track. Less successful: "Amanda" by Dave Alvin is even duller than the original. Robert Earl Keen's "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" seems to confirm his downward trajectory. And Henry Rollins' predictable rave up of the title track makes you realize how much better Waylon was at rocking without pyrotechnics or pretention. Lots of Waylon's catalog from his RCA glory days have never been released on CD. The greatest tribute of all here would be a renewed interest in Waylon's music that spurs an aggressive reissue program by RCA or others."

Barely leaves my CD player

Stephen P. Hagan | Carbondale, IL United States | 04/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a musical nut raised on Folk and outlaws, Waylon is an everyman for me, the liner notes alone in this tribute are worth the money. The story from Alejendro Esceveda just struck me warm. The Norah track is perfect, but im a Norah-phile so most everything she does is. I am rather partial to the Keen and Rollins tracks as well. But the best for me is Kris Kristofferson, doing "I Believe". The song he sung at Waylons funeral, just that alone brings a tear to my eye. There are other wonderful tracks Clarks Good Hearted Woman and Storms never Last by Allison Moorer come to mind.
As for the first reviewer, sure some of these songs were written by other people it even says that in the liner notes. Outlaw Country and Waylon Jennings werent about writing the best songs, they were about a mindset and entertainment. Cash does other peoples songs all the time always has. But these songs are still Waylon.. part of a man who has left this world."

Waylon Jennings. Personified.

p_bauer | Los Angeles, CA | 04/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thought this album was excellent. No, it's not a greatest hits album, and that's what drew me to it even more. This album introduces a collection of songs for the distinguishing Waylon fan because it goes past the obvious. It emphasizes the essence of Waylon's song, and that made it very solid. I also liked the fact that the artists introduced their own contributions to the songs; Norah Jones' rendition of `Wurlitzer Prize' was absolutely wonderful, Robert Earl Keen as he performed `Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way' was incredible, as was Henry Rollins' interpretation of `Lonesome, On'ry and Mean' which definitely rocked. I highly recommend this album to all fans of Waylon Jennings. This one is definitely not one to be passed up."