Customer Reviews

The Complete Lester "Roadhog" Moran & The Cadillac Cowboys

5 star:		(27)
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A wonderfully colorful spoof about inept country-western musicians and the comical characters populating their backwoods radio broadcasts. It's understatement to say that a cloud follows this awful ensemble around. With a repertoire beyond their abilities and arrangements from beyond the Twilight Zone, their bid for musical fame misses by a country mile.
In the mid-Seventies, the Statler Brothers issued a pair of hilarious cult-humor LPs under the pseudonym "Lester `Roadhog' Moran & His Cadillac Cowboys." An instant hit with record collectors, DJs, and musicians, the two albums soon became hard-to-find treasures. Their cacophonous cuts have long been featured on underground FM radio shows. To this day, nationwide radio/TV personality Don Imus uses snippets from the albums on his daily morning program.
Now reissued on CD with bonus Ralph Emery "interviews," the two LPs are seeing new life, reaching yet another generation of fans. The 23-cut CD is a pastiche of botched melodies, wacko ad-libs, and gaffe-prone performances by a tenth-rate country band oblivious to its own incompetence. There's even an excruciating audition tape ham-handedly produced by the boys themselves. Taken together, the CD's quirky cuts are a sidesplitting but nevertheless endearing portrayal of backwater wannabe entertainers with no talent, no chance at stardom, and no clue how dreadful they are.
Some of the performances take place on tiny radio station WEAK. The fifteen-minute spots are sponsored by Burford's Barbershop. As the CD progresses, we come to know Burford, his customers, and other assorted redneck revelers. It's an anarchic mix of Stan Freberg, Jerry Springer and the Firesign Theater.
The remaining musical groaners and hick hi-jinks unravel at the Cadillac Cowboys' weekly live remote. Emanating from Johnny Mack Brown High School, these Saturday night dances were formerly held at the volunteer firehouse until it burned down.
The CD abounds with satiric Southern-fried local color. Listeners get the feeling they've tuned into a rural radio show with fully fleshed-out characters taking on a life of their own - if you call that living. Tunes are truncated when fights break out, song dedications are fumbled, live commercials go awry and general pandemonium reigns as Lester and the boys lurch forward into show business suicide.
A unique, devastatingly funny recording, one to play for unsuspecting friends - guaranteed to prompt the question: "Where on earth did you get THAT?"

Alright, mighty fine, and howdy, howdy. I guess I must confess to being especially partial to the Old Roadhog on account of the fact that my Daddy was the ass't. principal at Johnny Mack Brown High School back pert near thirty years back. Daddy hired me to clean up after most of the old Roadhog's appearances in the school gym down in Rainbow Valley. Oh lord, if only you could have been there. Let's just say that there was an awful lot of brown glass a-flying through the air, and yours truly had the privilege of sweeping it up (that and a few other items I won't get into describing right here, if you know what I'm saying.) Anyway, we all come to know the old Roadhog real good--never was a finer feller on the face of the earth if you ask me. Songs like "Fillipino Baby" and "Sixteen Tons" and seeing a couple of big uns--like Dolly and Porter--sure brings back some mighty fine memories. Well, if you couldn't actually have been there back then, your next best bet is to buy this here album. And if you do, you'll help the old Roadhog out in his retirement (he's still working in Rainbow Valley at Vern's Gas and Tires--mostly changing people's oil and filling tires with air. Stop by and look him up if you get down that way. Mighty fine.

I first heard Lester and the boys about 25 years ago. Being one to impersonate anyone with an unusual way of speaking, I immediately fell in love with doing Roadhog. I have been introducing folks to Lester and the boys ever since. I love every bit of it but nothing beats talking about "the Joanie MACK Brown HI scooool" (sic). In the 70's, the Statler's were at the top of their game. They must have put in some long hours to play this bad. Buy it, kick back and enjoy. It is rare that something so bad can be so good.

If you have never heard the Old Roadhog, you've got a real treat coming. If you've worn the grooves off your old LP (put out, of course, by the Mercury Music Record people), rejoice. Here's the complete Roadhog ouvre in the full majesty of digital remastering. No collection of American popular music is complete without this recording. Beyond that, it should suffice to say, "I don't know. I don't know. I wish they hadn't of done that. I don't know...."

I wish this CD would again become available. The Statler Brothers sendup of
Lester "Roadhog" Moran and the Cadillac Cowboys is absolutely hilarious, in the
same way that Spike Jones is, or maybe Weird Al Yankovic. I first heard it back
in the '70's when a friend of mine taped it for me at the radio station where
he worked. It reminded me painfully and humorously of the overconfident and
underskilled rock & roll and country bands I had played in around then, each
one of them a musical train wreck in process. You have to be good to play this
badly on purpose (unlike the bands I was in, who did it all by accident).

Iff'n it ever comes available agin, go on down an' git yerself a copy! Tell
'em the Ol' Road Hawg sent ye!

Back in the 70s this group became legend among musicians of every genre at the time. We found hundreds of ways to filter lines from these recordings into every day situations and never got tired of listening to this hilarious spoof that took every one of us back to the days of southern local radio shows that our parents listened to religiously in the 50s. Like all satire, it's not that much of a stretch from the reality of what those shows were really like. This is one of those moments in time that just can't and won't be duplicated ever again. A diamond in the rough, indeed.

I was 'introduced' to Lester and the Boys quite a few years ago. I will admit it may be 'corny' but you will not regret making them a part of your life. There are so many Roadhog '...isms' you will use forever! Enjoy this and remember, you have to be a very good musician to play very bad music(that, is, on purpose).

In the words of ole' Roadhog himself this record is "mighty fine". I heard these guys live when they opened for the Stafford Brothers and Mother Mayball Carter last Winter down to the Johnny Mack Brown Highschool gym and was imeadiately impressed. All I can say is buy as many copies of this country classic as you can get yer hands on before it goes out of print.
Five stars jist aint enough, Thanks boys and keep on a'singin'

I was introduced to "The Ol' Roadhog" about 20 years ago. It still remains one of the most clever, well done, funny and true to life band albums ever. Like Spinal Tap, every musician or everyone who knows a musician should own a copy of Lester "Roadhog" and his Cadillac Cowboys.

I played in a bluegrass band in the 70's, and one night at The Foundry we had a big drawing for door prizes and grand prize was a copy of the Old Roadhog's album. The guy that won it traded it for a pitcher of beer.

Once I saw the Flying Burrito Brothers (not the real ones with Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, just the ones with Byron Berline) and in between the songs they'd say, "All right, might fine."

That about says it all. Philistines everywhere. Even in Wichita, the home of take-off guitar. Mighty fine, that's a good-un. This is one funny album. Buy it. Buy extra copies of it to give to your sick and shut in friends. I gotta go now, it's time for the shootin' match down at Ernie's.