Honky-tonk veteran Waylon Jennings' latest collection of country tunes pays homage to the songwriting skills of fellow Texan Billy Joe Shaver, whose own album ranks as one of the finest debuts of the year. Both LPs join recent efforts by Willie Nelson and Johnny Rodriguez in showing how the Armadillo State has spawned some of the best in contemporary C&W. Unfortunately,
Read More
Nashville hasn't always been good to neo-cowboy singers, having emasculated Jennings' ballsy rockabilly style and turned him into a crooner with a beat, then simply ignoring Shaver. With these two albums, Music City offers amends for such slights.
After many years of overproduction on record, Waylon Jennings' new album offers an opportunity to hear the crisp, robust, no-nonsense sound which has been his trademark since his early days with Buddy Holly's Crickets. Honky Tonk Heroes features Jennings' own backup band, the Waylors, one of the finest of all touring country groups, as well as the usual assortment of studio musicians, playing some refreshingly sparse arrangements. Thus unencumbered, Jennings' voice is at its bluesy best—tough, raunchy and authoritative.
Still, the real star of Honky Tonk Heroes is Billy Joe Shaver's lyrics. The themes are familiar: the road, the rails, drifting, drinking, womanizing, and losing. Yet the words are defiantly original, probably the most literate lyrics since Kris Kristofferson came along. Shaver has a talent for lines that caress both mind and ear.
"Ride Me Down Easy," sung somberly by Jennings, and "Ain't No God in Mexico" are memorable ramblers' laments. Jennings also delivers a rocking version of "Black Rose," a song banned from many country stations because of its references to a black girl. More's the pity, since it features Billy Joe Shaver's folksy humor and playful imagery: "Well the Devil made me do it the first time/The second time I done it on my own/Lord, put a handle on this simple-headed man/Help me leave that black rose alone."
When nobody in Nashville wanted to produce Shaver's own album, Kris Kristofferson offered to do the job. Though the resulting tracks are sometimes overproduced, Shaver's honest voice and down-home intonation serve his lyrics faithfully. At times wistful, as in "Old Five and Dimers Like Me," at other times defiant, as in "L.A. Turnaround" ("L.A. turn your big ass out to sea ..."), and a little boastful for good measure, as in "I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train," Shaver is always engaging, a good ole boy possessed of both wit and charm. Faithful to his roots, he sings in praise of Dixie when "Jesus Was Our Saviour and Cotton Was Our King," perhaps the most touching of his lyrics. Loyal to his heroes, he glorifies both Jesus ("Sing me more songs about Jesus/'Cause I am a big Jesus fan") and Willie Nelson ("I reckon we'll wander till hell freezes over/Willy the wandering gypsy and me").
In one song, Shaver declares, "Looks like lookin' for is whe
