Customer Reviews

Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch

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Now recording on his own label, Joe Ely plans several releases this year, along with an excellent book of poetry and an exhibition of his drawings. "Happy Songs from Rattlesnake Gulch" is undoubtedly the centerpiece of the 2007 effort and would be the centerpiece of most artists' careers. Joe, who just turned 60, continues displaying not only his extraordinary musicality, but his concerned worldview, his offbeat imagination, his wanderer's observations, his wit and finally his sense of hope. He is as complicated, yet down-to-earth as Texas, which has always been his home. Listen to this, his best work in several years, and realize that Joe is also a National Treasure and a singer/songwriter at the very top of his game, celebrating 30 years on top of his craft.

My first thought was horns, what the heck? But, Joe Ely's one of those singer-songwriters who I'm willing to listen to just about anything he does. While this isn't "Letter to Laredo" it's still not bad--there's a couple of killer lines in each song and some of the songs are just plain killer.

Of course, my favorites of this CD are the outlaw songs. "Jesse Justice" is about a gambling pool playing man and "Miss Bonnie and Mr. Clyde" deals with a partnership between a young man and the infamous duo. These two are what I really hoped for from this one and they're the pick of the litter.

A good CD from Joe Ely. Not his best work but still good.