Customer Reviews

Live at Longview

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ian is 68 years old and could rest on his laurels and do a "greatest hits," but this album ignores them with a couple of exceptions (Someday Soon, Navajo Rug) and creatively presents some new and recent songs in the cowboy-western tradition. A couple of these (Little High Plains Town, Bob Fudge) are among his very best ever. The sound is wonderful for a live concert, the arrangements are creative, with effective addition of drums and fiddle on some songs and even a trumpet on one, and his voice is as strong as ever. In an amazingly strong catalog that includes some of the best 60s folk (Ian and Sylvia), early country rock (Great Speckled Bird) as well as the cowboy classics of his later career, this album is one of his very best. It's my favorite of all his solo albums, because of the consistency of the material and the warm feeling of the concert that makes you wish you had been there.

At 17 tracks it is possible to think of this package as two CD's in one. Live versions of old classics AND more new songs than were included on the excellant compilation 'All The Good Uns' The new twists on the familiar songs are all worth having, Ian's voice is lose and the phrasings relaxed and different enough from the careful studio ones to give the songs new feel and depth. But there's more going on than just vocals; there's a great fiddle break on Casey Tibbs, a new sound to "I Outgrew the Wagon" and a great guitar intro to "Fifty Years Ago" The arrangement of "Old Corrals and Sagebrush" is the third Ian has recorded, and is the best one yet.

The new songs could have come off "18 Inches of Rain" or "I Outgrew the Wagon" Tracks 3,8,12 and 15 have the great sense of melody that Ian stepped away from in favor of a different sound on the "Lost Herd" CD. Fans who didn't care for that CD as much as the earlier ones will welcome the return to classic form. On the other side, tracks 5 and 16 (the later revisiting the Texas to Montana cattle drive theme of 'Banks of the Musselshell') show Ian still evolving and expanding as a songwriter.

Then the last track, Magpie, has been reworked to something I can best describe as calypso vasquero.

All in all a smooth easy broken-in sound and as strong a CD as any Ian has made.

I have been listening to Ian Tyson since the 60s. His voice is still as strong as ever. Age has not diminished it at all. This is a wonderful CD for any cowboy folk fan. I especially enjoyed the live recording. I hope he is still writing and recording for a good long time.

This album is another fine piece of work by Ian. You're front row, center, in this live performance. It's a mix of old and new - and the new is vintage Tyson. The "white bread cowboy rap" song Jerry Ambler is a departure, but after a few listens even that blends in.

My first really cowboy recording and I was blown away. This guy is nearly 70, sings on key, the lyrics feel real to me, and I enjoy live recordings and this is one of the best I've heard. Despite the the theme of some of the songs there is an optimisim that shows through thus is a very upbeat album. Will now have to start backfilling with other Tyson albums.
If I could give a gift to all my friends, it would be a copy of this CD. And great photography in the liner notes, a nice add.

Okay, okay... as with any "Live" recording, there isn't the purity of the studio. In my estimation, this is what really makes this a fantastic CD. It's Ian Tyson at his best, heard the way he should be heard, live onstage.

If you're a fan of "Nashville Trash", give this a listen. Even friends who aren't C&W fans love this CD. Why, because it's a work of quality and of sincere passion. The best thing he's released since "All the Good'uns"

From the first track to the last it's Ian at his best. This CD is never out of my player, and it could only be better if it were longer. No fillers here, just the best of Ian---only missing Four Strong Winds and Summer Wages. The smoothest voice you can imagine. Buy it.

Wow...I have been a fan of Ian Tyson since 1963 when I heard Ian & Sylvia sing "Some Day Soon"...really changed my life..I have enjoyed his music ever since. Ian is 75 years old now and still...this CD is GREAT! It sounds like he is surrounded by friends and singing his songs....really good. Then he sings "Some Day Soon" and it was great! Not like the 63 version, but it just sounded richer to me. If you like western music, then you need to buy this CD...really!

Ian Tyson as much a part of Canadian music as anyone could be and it was neat to be transported back to the energy of his live performances. Having lived in Alberta for twenty years we made every attempt we could to hear this man live. His songs are varied and unique and tell a story that opens up the imagination to a way of life which is fast disappearing. I liked the fact that this CD was recorded in Longview and enjoyed the contributions of the musicians as well. Myron Szott continues to show his fiddling artistry on this CD. Great fun.

This album is another fine piece of work by Ian. You're front row, center, in this live performance. It's a mix of old and new - and the new is vintage Tyson. The "white bread cowboy rap" song Jerry Ambler is a departure, but after a few listens even that blends in.