Customer Reviews

The Highwaymen - On the Road Again

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"On the Road Again" is a good video portrait of the Highwaymen. This hour long DVD is as close as most will ever come to a Highwaymen show. The camaraderie and bond between Waylon, Willie, Johnny and Kris is as apparent here as it is invisible on the corresponding album. The sentiment that the group is made up of four ol' friends comes across strongly. Relevant interview fragments are sprinkled between and within songs. Regardless of who your favorite Highwayman may be, the song selection is good as the band plays most of the favorites that one would expect like the Dukes of Hazzard Theme, Folsom Prison Blues, Me and Bobby McGee and Riders in the Sky. The United Kingdom may seem like an odd place for a Highwaymen video concert, but the boys explain their connection with the land and people. While the video production is good, the sound could be better. At times, the audio sounds like an audience recording. "On the Road Again," may be the essential document to showcase the Highwaymen's power, talent and warmth.

An hour of Highwaymen music (sorta) that should at least be enough to satisfy fans of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. Recorded in 1992 in Aberdeen, Scotland, THE HIGHWAYMEN packs in a LOT of songs into its sixty minute run time. That's a good thing.

Less good, but still alright, is the decision to pack it full of solo greatest hits. So Willie sings `Crazy' and `On the Road Again,' Waylon `Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way,' Johnny `Folsom Prison Blues' and `Get Rhythm,' etc., etc. It's nice to have them on disk and everything, but one of the strengths of their albums was the contemporary ballads they'd swap verses on - for instance Robert Earl Keen's `The Road Goes On Forever,' Steve Earle's `The Devil's Right Hand,' and Guy Clark's `Desparados (Waiting for a Train.)' They do sing as a verse-swapping group on some of the songs, like Cash's `Highwayman' and `Ghost Riders in the Sky,' but the group concept takes a definite back seat.

A bad thing is when then plug a short video talking head in during an instrumental bridge or solo. It doesn't happen very often, but it doesn't become any less annoying, either.

As a fan of the solo career of these guys, I liked this dvd quite a bit. The boys are in good voice and the great hits are faithfully rendered.

Regardless of the other oddball reviews this DVD is great!
If you like these folks then anything is better than nothing.
Nothing is exactly what you will have without this DVD.

Granted the playing and singing has sounded better, but a rare shot video of the boys being who they really are can't be bad.

I prefer the stripped down lack luster performances when it is obvious the road/life has brought out the real rugged raw men.

You are lucky to have the opportunity to buy this DVD!

SO
Get it while you can!

Don't wast your time or money on this one. Order the first Highwaymen video. The quality and the sound of this one is horrible.. They all look as if they haven't slept in days and sing like it too. Johnnie doesn't sing as much on this one as the first one. The first video is just excellent...Buy that one!!! I love these guys. What happened to this video? IT IS THE PITS...

These guys are great. I really wish that I could have seen them in person. It's nice to see them on tape, but I was a little disappointed with this one because the sound quality is not very good, the camera work isn't very good, and the crowd doesn't seem into it (filmed in Scotland). The other Highwaymen VHS concert is much better than this one. I still give this video four stars because I love the music and the artists.

I came across this live concert by accident one day on cable about 5 years ago - it is without a doubt one of the best concerts I have ever seen. No special effects - just great music by 4 living legends. This is classic and every song is one you will sing all day (especially in the shower!) A definite 5 stars!

I have been a long time fan of highwaymen, waylon in particular.I love the vhs video called "highwaymen live" and consider it as one of the best live concert recording I ever had. So when I find that some of you compair the two I am not surprised they prefer highwaymen live.It was such a masterpeace !
Still this one is a good one, especialy songs by willie are impresive, for sure the best singing performance by Willie on video.
As far as the sound is concerned there is indeed a litle too much reverberation but the full spectrum of frequences is there and i can leave with it because they really sing well !
want to get a sound as good as a cd ? buy the Highwaymen live VHS! want to complete it with an other one on dvd ? buy this one too ! on top songs are not the same in many cases !
last point I indeed hated that they introduced a speaking short session in the midle of one of my prefered songs by waylon !
i only regret that the highwaymen live video cannot be found on dvd come on Sony ! "just do it "

i waited over 2 months for this video, but it was well worth the wait. it's worth buying just for willie & kris doing loving her was eaisier-willie really picks. willie does alot of songs on this video and everyone is excellent. they look like they are having alot of fun....it's a must for a highwaymen fan!

I have waited for years for the original Highwaymen Live concert to be released on DVD. Well it is on DVD...www.tracsnz.com
Just search for "highwaymen" and you will see it there. Incidentally, this is the ONLY place online I can find it.

If you love the Highwaymen, as a group or individually, this video is worth having, but this show does rather lack the zest and fun of the first Highwaymen video. They seem tired and less involved than in the earlier show -- Waylon, in particular, takes a back seat (literally) for much of the show, which makes it less worth watching for this Waylon fan. Which is not to say that there aren't some highlights, particularly Waylon joining Kris on a duet of Me and Bobby McGee and a chaotic Ghostriders in the Sky. The audience is enthusiastic, and the backstage chats with the guys are nice. I saw them in Rotterdam during this same tour, and have to say that they put on a much more lively show there than on this occasion. But hey: these guys are the real deal, we're hardly spoiled for footage of them, and having lost two of them now this is pretty much all she wrote -- and at their worst they were still better than anything else then or now. They're a little the worse for wear in this show, but if you like country music at its ornery, non-formulaic best, this show won't waste your time.