Customer Reviews

Earth Rolls on

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and as the man sings, "it aint over yet."

Despite a lifetime of tragedies, the most recent being Eddy Shaver's death on New Year's Eve 2000, Shaver continues to produce some of today's finest music, country or otherwise. THE EARTH ROLLS ON, the latest and last release by the father and son team is a full band recording with fourteen Shaver originals, none of which can be classified as filler. The band is excellent with Wilco's Ken Coomer and Jay Bennett present on most tracks. Eddy's guitar finally has room to shine between the lyrics - "Evergreen Fields" in particular reveals what a talent was lost. There are no instant "classics" (such as the re-worked "Georgia on a Fast Train" from 1993's TRAMP ON YOUR STREET); it's an album chock-full of straightforward songwriting with little reliance on hooks. But if one were forced to pick a standout from the standouts, "Love is So Sweet" and "It's Not Over Till It's Over" would be in the running.

Among the complete Shaver discography, THE EARTH ROLLS ON is most comparable to 1996's HIGHWAY OF LIFE in its complexity, especially when compared to its stripped-down predecessors, the spare, spiritual VICTORY (1998) and raw and raucous ELECTRIC SHAVER (1999).

An absolute must-have for Shaver fans and a should-buy for anyone else who still cares about the integrity of country music and top-notch songwriting in general. Here's hoping that Billy Joe finds the strength to carry on.

This is an album about survival, about staring the grim reaper in maw and flipping him the bird. Seriously, though, the testament to the toughness of this record is the upbeat first tune "love is so sweet" in which the singer meditates on a hard and traveling life and comes away with the most important bit of wisdom being "Love is so sweet/It makes you bounce as you walk down the street". "evergreen fields" is simply gorgeous-- sripped-bare rumination on mortality and being without roots ("no harvest awaits me"). There are plenty of upbeat tunes, and the album generally chugs along with the sound and fury of a runaway locomotive. The late Eddy Shaver's searing guitar licks sound like one man's personal sonic war against his demons. He bottom-feeds from the blues and soars into uncharted country territory. Eddy, we hardly knew ye...

My favorite track is the stubbornly unsentimental "I don't seem to fit anywhere" wherein the singer grapples with his own nomadic existence. All together, a stunning and defiant masterpiece of the first order, and probably the greatest record any of the Shavers has yet produced.

I have a sinking feeling that this CD is not for everybody, but I like it so much I wish it could be. This is a mixed up stew of hard rock and outlaw-country, almost as if Waylon Jennings had recorded with Lynyrd Skynyrd. But Shaver stands apart, and this is no 70s throwback. "The Earth Rolls On" is also a father-son melding of Jennings-generation singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver and his rock guitarist son. (In fact, Waylon recorded many songs by Billy Joe.) This is also an album marked by two tragedies. Billy Joe's wife (Eddie's mother) died shortly before the album was made - a fact that influenced at least two songs on the album, the title song "The Earth Rolls On" (#14) and "Blood is Thicker Than Water" (#8). The latter song, sung by both men, is primarily about the father-son relationship (in both the earthly and Christian senses). Then tragedy struck again - Eddie died before the album was released. (I'm not sure how - neither the liner notes nor the web site say). Listening to Eddies' solos on two of the best songs here, "Evergreen Fields" (#2) and "The Earth Rolls On" (#14), one gets the sense he went out in flames (figuratively speaking). My other favorite is "Love is So Sweet" (#1). If you've never heard Billy Joe Shaver before (as I hadn't), he introduces himself in the opening lines of this first song, an upbeat rocker: "I've been around for a long time, Mister, I've got a thing or two to say...I've been a drifter and a low-life loser, you could learn a lot from me...Love is So Sweet, it makes you bounce when you walk down the street." You may react, as I did, with an instant "I like this guy!"

This is my first exposure to the Shaver family. Bought the record on the strength of a friends recommendation, and loved it. I am not a country fan; I don't really care for a lot of that, just not my taste. Although I would naively call this a country record, at the end of the day it is so much more. I won't bore you with my track by track analysis, suffice to say that there is a lot of life in these songs, pathos, humor, everything. Don't be a stooge, get this disk.

Tragically, Eddie Shaver passed away soon after this cd was completed. He was just too damn young. He left us with a legacy though. Here, he and dad Billy Joe rock one final time with one hell of a country rock album. Billy Joe's songwriting is legendary enough, but he seemed to really get to the heart of some touchy subjects here and turn it up a notch. Especially cool is him and Eddie going back and forth on "Blood is thicker than water." Some very honest and nasty lyrics. I can't help but feel for B.J. as on the back of the disc, there's a picture of him putting his hand in a window; as if he's reaching out for Eddie. I like all Shaver cd's, but this ranks as one of the best for sure.

After a reading a review of this album in the Wall Street Journal, I had to buy it. The Journal was right--this is elemental country and not to be missed, even if you're not a country fan. Shaver's voice, lyrics and phrasing rings true to someone who grew up on a farm in rural Colorado. I could imagine him stepping out of his pickup truck, in his dirty jeans (field dirt, not city dirt) and baseball cap with a Co-op logo, and stepping into the local cafe. "Star in My Heart" is the ultimate song of alienation--he says leaving the woman he loves is "taking the thorn out of her side" and "the rock out of her shoe".

What's not to love here? Billy Joe Shaver's life has been a country song-a country song filled with tragedy. His own son died of a drug overdose before the album was released, and his wife, (married her twice), was suffering with cancer while he was making the record.

The music is more rock than country; the lyrics are more country than rock, and it makes for an interesting, fun, and lively set of songs. It feels upbeat, even if you know Billy Joe's heart is split in two-just listen to the lyrics. Except the opening song gives you the answer on how he keeps on keeping on- "Love is so sweet/makes you bounce when you walk down the street." It's also a strong song, and quite a statement to open the cd with.

This is a man who can write about deadly serious topics without taking himself too seriously. It's a fine line to walk, and he does it here to perfection. Mr. Shaver is a genius songwriter. Too bad he's barely known outside of Texas. Hey-I'm telling you now, so don't say you didn't know. Buy this so you can get to know Billy Joe Shaver. You won't regret it-he's worth your time and money.