Customer Reviews

No 2 Live Dinner

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the first Robert Earl Keen CD I listened to. I can't stop. It's got great music, funny stories, and both serious and humorous lyrics. I've run a half marathon and a marathon, and all the training runs for those races with this CD. Keen knows how to play the mood. From the get up and move first track, to the middle ballads, then a great finish. I don't live in Texas anymore, but everytime I listen to this CD, I almost feel like I'm back home. One of the most listened to CDs I own.

First time I listened to this CD was in a convertable on an empty road to El Paso - Keen's music is as peaceful and comfortable as anything you will ever find and this CD makes you want to quit your job, pack a knapsack, and re-discover your independence. Keen's Live No. 2 is as exciting, as fun and as intense as anything I have every heard and its originality and sincerity are as big a threat to Nashville's version of "Country" as Willie Waylon and Cash were over 20 years ago.

Robert Earl Keen plays country music the way it was meant to be played, and "No 2 Live Dinner" is Robert Earl Keen the way he was meant to be heard: live in concert! I have several of Bob Earl's albums, but none of his studio releases compares to this live album. Keen's songs are always entertaining, albeit in different ways. "Merry Christmas From The Family" is just plain hilarious. "Gringo Honeymoon" and "Sonora's Death Row" both tell stories so vividly that you'd think they were your own memories. Amarillo Highway just plain rocks (plus I love the 'Shiner Bock and Lone Star' reference). And "The Road Goes On Forever" (Keen's cornerstone track) with its rambling autobiographical intro appeals to everyone because of its unabashed party attitude. Forget the slick, formulaic, commercial country and go with the real deal: Robert Earl Keen, LIVE!

No 2 Live Dinner is incredible. It is what you can expect at every Robert Earl Keen show. From the beginning, "I'm Going To Town", to "I'm Comin' Home", it makes you wish you were there. My personal favorites are "Merry Christmas From The Family" and "The Road Goes On Forever". "The Road Intro" is a nice set-up for the song. Purchase and enjoy.

My brother dubbed me a copy of this album onto cassette back in '96. I was visiting him in Austin, TX, and on the drive home I listened to NOTHING else! Since then not a week has gone by without me throwing this in the CD player and taking the long way home. This CD is an hour or so of absolute brilliance!

I first stumbled on Robert Earl Keen on Austin City Limits several years back and have truly found an American original. This live recording, which has particularly raucous versions of "The Road Goes on Forever" and the classic "Merry Christmas from the Family" shows the singer to be a story- teller of the highest talent level. The story of how he came to meet Willie Nelson had me in sticthes. Great music from a humorous storyteller with a Texas heart.

if you love music, buy this album. it is really just that simple. a friend turned me on to REK back in '97 and no album captures the essence of the man better than this one. i've had several of his studio albums but somehow this cd is the one i always reach for....and as another reviewer said, i am also on my second copy as my first could only stand the abuse for so many years!

Them's here some cousin marrying music. And I don't mean just list-nin' to Robert Earl Keen at your cousin's wedding reception. Nope, I mean up and marrying your cousin yourself.

There's always supposed to be a new Dylan rising. It has been Springsteen, Adam Duritz, the Wallflowers, but Robert Earl Keen is a countrified Dylan, skillful in the art of song craft. Of the two live albums of his, I would have to give the nod to his earlier one simply titled "The Live Album." Its undertones are more grassroots, the music sparse and beautiful, and the storytelling stays fresh and funny. Keen's voice, much like coming to drinking a Shiner Bock or Lone Star Beer for the first time is an acquired taste. But it is unique, gritty, and twangy. His music lies in the land of in betweens. It is in between bluegrass, folk-rock, country and western twang, and grassroots Americana.

This is the best driving music around as you can sing at the top of your lungs to each song and the sound of your own howlin' doesn't diminish the off-key and catchy Robert Earl Keen, who is howlin' right along with you. His stories on this one are funny the first time through and can get some good laughs when shared with friends, but with repeat listens you will find yourself forwarding on through to get to the music. And what music it is...pure Texas, pure grassroots.

"And I'm willin' to bet son that I'm a bigger Texan than you are...on those hard rollin' Amarillo highways."

Sing these to your cousin on your gringo honeymoon.

This is a fantastic disc of a great live show by a seminal Texas artist. He gets better with time. Others comments bear this out. I'm writing about this disc being rated as SACD for Super Audio CD. I have ordered 2 labeled a such and have gotten 2 regular CDs. I checked the Robert Earl Keen website, Koch records, and [...], a super audio reference site. There is no SACD of this disc. It does not exist. A faulty bar code on the package causes it to come up as being an SACD. It's a great disc and well worth buying, even if it isn't SACD. Maybe someday.

Can't say enough good about this CD. Great songwriter and good performer. If you haven't heard of REK, this would be a pretty good start. If you have, the live experience is worth adding to your collection. I just wish he toured further north.