Customer Reviews

Don't Mess with Texas Music, Vol. 3

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I received this CD as a gift. I like all kinds of music but would not have bought anything by these artists normally, except for Chris Rea.

This CD is killer. Each listening brings out a different "cut" for repeated replaying. I don't like everything on the CD, but the good tracks out weigh the bad 10 to 1.

I have purchased CD's by some of these artists. That is the best recommendation I can give. My music horizons were broadened by this CD.

"The new Don't Mess With Texas Music Volume Three CD celebrates the people, places and great state of Texas. It features honorary chair Willie Nelson and 19 other great artists and songs about Texas. It also includes messages about the importance of music education from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Music Educators Association.

Below is the line-up for the new Don't Mess With Texas Music Volume Three which celebrates the people, places and great state of Texas. All the artwork is original and includes a 24-page insert."

South by Southwest, Lee Roy Parnell (with Delbert McClinton)

Way Down Texas Way, Dale Watson

The Bluest Eyes In Texas, Nina Persson & Nathan Larson

Austin After Midnight, Jimmy LaFave

Texas, Chris Rea

Texas On My Mind, Jerry Jeff Walker

Long Walk Back to San Antone, Junior Brown

Home to Houston, Steve Earle

Rusty Old Red River, Toni Price

Joe's Gone Ridin, Patricia Vonne

Texas, Willie Nelson

Amarillo Highway, Robert Earl Keen

Texas Blue Moon, Shelley King

Houston, Johnny Copeland

Texas Two Step, Caroline Herring

Texas Gypsy Theme, Texas Gypsies

Little Bit A Texas, Renee Austin

Lone Star State of Mind, Nanci Griffith

Laredo, Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez

Levelland, James McMurtry

The trouble for me with this CD is that there is not enough variety. There are only about three or four basic rhythms and almost every other song is a honky tonk blues number. Blues has a very limited range and these artists do not seem bent on stretching the boundaries. I found most of the songs predictably structured with familiar chord progressions. There is also the problem that many of the lyrics are in written from a contemplative point of view, which also gets monotonous. The only number that really grabbed me immediately was Nanci Griffith's "Lone Star State of Mind," although her accent is extremely peculiar. She sounds like more like an Iowa farm girl transplanted to the San Fernando Valley than a native Texan. But I cannot get her song out of my mind. This CD is not bad as background music for beer-drinking socializing or driving down a lonesome Texas highway, but for the most part I found it only mildly interesting. I've listened to it six or seven times now, but my initial impression remains the same. In general, I like this series, but the Tex-Mex volume remains far and away the best.