| Lonesome, On'ry and Mean: A Tribute to Waylon Jennings - Various Artists | |
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Reviewed by Jolene Downs
With the passing of any great musician, there will be at least one tribute album dedicated to their music. In some cases, there will be more than one. Waylon Jennings was a legend in his field and a true outlaw. He did it his way or not at all, and his way was extremely successful. DualTone Records has released a tribute album dedicated to Waylon and his music.
There are a variety of songs covered on this album and the artists are as varied as the song choices. I will note that very few of the songs sound the way that Waylon did them. Each artist has rearranged the songs to fit their singing style. Nanci Griffith takes "You Asked Me To," and interprets it in her style. She has a sultry singing voice and the accordion music in the background gives the song a bit of Southwest flavor.
One of my all-time favorite Waylon songs is "Amanda." Dave Alvin has chosen to do this song, and I was happy that he kept it more or less the way I'm used to hearing it. He did a good job with it.
Norah Jones sounds very jazzy on "Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want To Get Over You)." It is a really different take on the song with the way she has interpreted it. After getting over the initial "Wow is this different" thoughts, I enjoyed it. There is the jazzy piano playing softly in the background with the acoustic guitar keeping the rhythm of the song going.
Pam Tillis joined with Cowboy Jack Clement on "Let's All Help the Cowboys (Sing the Blues)." This is one of the songs that is very similar to how Waylon did it. Pam does a great job singing harmony with Cowboy Jack and also singing a chorus or two solo.
John Doe chose to do "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line." Another classic Waylon song, there was very little choice but to sing the way that Waylon did. It just wouldn't sound right any other way - and he did a fine job.
One of my favorite song interpretations on the album was "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way." I was not familiar with Robert Earl Keen, and didn't know what to expect when I saw his name on the credits. He added a very different drum rhythm to the basic beat of the song and made it a fun song to listen to. It is a really upbeat song anyway, and the added drums made it even more upbeat overall. And to that he added a little bit of the stereo sound effects that were common in songs of the late 70's and into the 80's where the sound fluctuates noticeably between the speakers.
Carlene Carter is the stepdaughter of Johnny Cash, one of the four Highwaymen. Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings often did projects together so it was nice to see Carlene participating on this album. She chose to cover "I've Always Been Crazy." She chose to give the song a very different sound from the original version, but she has a great voice and the song sounded great with her interpretation.
"Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" is possibly one Waylon's most recognized songs. Radney Foster and Roger Creager chose this song for their tribute and they left it exactly the way they should have. This was another one that just wouldn't sound right done any other way.
"I Do Believe" was performed by Kris Kristofferson. Kris was a Highwayman as well and another frequent singing partner with Waylon. It was great to see his name on the list of participants for the tribute project.
The Crickets did "Waymore's Blues." While they definitely gave it their own interpretation, it wasn't so much so that the original arrangement was buried. They did a good job covering the song; seeming to acknowledge the fact that while no one can sing it like Waylon they were going to give it their best shot. It worked.
The last song on the album is a real heavy rocker. Henry Rollins chose to do "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean." It has a driving guitar and drum rhythm that will definitely wake you up if you have slipped into complacent listening mode. Not bad, just very different and not for someone who absolutely despises an old-fashioned rock n' roll song. He very much changed the sound of this song, and overall I think it was a fitting end to the tribute for "The Outlaw."
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