Bottom Line:
There are few artists in the history of country music who have had greater and more lasting influence than Buck Owens. This is true for all manner of west-coast country artists, as well as mainstream, whether people realize it or not. For nearly twenty years Buck Owens was an invited guest in a half-million or so American households every week as one of the hosts of the syndicated hillbilly sensation, Hee Haw!, and he wrote and sang some of the most enduring songs in country. The Derailers are here to show us all, through Buck's music, just how true that is.
About the only complaint I have about this disc is that lead singer Brian Hofeldt, along with the rest of the Derailers (Ed Edkins, Scott Matthews, Sweet Basil McJagger, and Chris Schlotzhauer), sound almost too much like Buck Owens and the Buckaroos. This isn't a bad thing, at least, not in my opinion - I love really close covers. But it is a truism that when a tribute comes this close to the original, you might as well listen to the original. Still, there's a lot of love in these tracks, with some of Buck's best and most well-known hits, such as "Foolin' Around," "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail," and "Love's Gonna Live Here." Thirteen tracks (and the liner notes say there's a bonus track, "Cajun Fiddle," but it's not really a "track," per se, rather about a minute of fine fiddlin' tacked onto the end of "Big in Vegas," written by Buck). And I'd be lying if I said I didn't love this. I really do... largely because I lack a lot of Buck in my own collection. In fact, the only way I'd love this disc more was if it included my favorite Buck song, "Made In Japan." It's also missing some of Buck's fun, tongue-in-cheek humorous songs, and for some reason includes "Johnny B. Goode," which Buck did record but was hardly a "Buck Owens Song," and could have easily been sacrificed for something truly Owens-esque. Of course, I could make a long list about what's not here - what's important is what IS.
So. What is here? Absolute proof that no west-coast honky-tonker is complete without a little Buck in their repertoire. Proof that no one can sing lines like "my heart skips a beat when you walk down the street" without that distinctive and familiar "scooping" of the lyrics; and most of all, what's here is an inestimable, wholly honest and heartfelt tribute to a man whose style and dedication helped keep country music country. One of my greatest sorrows in life was when Buck sold the Phoenix branch of his radio station empire, KNIX - country radio in Phoenix hasn't been the same since. Buck Owens was passionate about keeping country music sounding like country music, a dedication and fierceness he passed on to all those influenced by him, from Dwight Yoakam to the Derailers; it's that sound that will always be associated with Buck, no matter who's singing the songs. Technical stuff includes production by Brian Hofeldt himself, with a few additional players, Casper Rawls on guitar and Haydn Vitera on that fiddle. All the songs with the exception of "Johnny B. Goode" were written or co-written by Buck, and the disc as a whole is dedicated to the memory of Buck, Don Rich, and Doyle Holly. The flesh may die, but the legend will live forever.
Track List:
- Foolin' Around
- Under The Influence Of Love
- Love's Gonna Live Here
- Together Again
- My Heart Skips A Beat
- I've Got A Tiger By The Tail
- Cryin' Time
- Before You Go
- Sam's Place
- Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass
- Down On The Corner Of Love
- Johnny B Goode
- Big In Vegas
