Customer Reviews

Open Up Your Heart

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is a sleeper! It carries a lot of bang for the Buck in that the songs are all solid, consistently played gems. The lead-off title track features James Burton on lead guitar, in what is for him a rare display of guitar prominence. His playing is crisp, tough, and there is a generous helping of it. All the songs are recorded quite well, with nice punch to all the instruments. Buck's vocals as well as his writing likewise are of consistently high quality.

Like all Bear Family box sets, not for the uninitiated. The comparison is between other, more concise Buck sets and the other comprehensive Bear boxes of the same genre/era. Others have commented on how the inclusion of the Buckaroos material bloats the set a bit, and that is certainly a very valid point. However, the inclusion of said material highlights the talents of the great Don Rich, who could have perhaps formed a wonderful career on his own, had a) he sought more of the spotlight instead of firm support of Buck, and b) had not had the bad career move of dying far too young. Most of the Buck material is quite famililar, some of the Rich tunes new to most of us. Buck makes a good point mentioned in the liner notes about wanting to put some distance between other country acts and himself, and this box makes the best case for such. Unlike many other Bear Family boxes, there is much variety within each disc and for those of us that make a habit of buying these monsters (I have perhaps 50, and wish I had them all), this is a welcome and surprising feature. If you just know Buck from HeeHaw, avoid this one, it is too much Buck for the Buck. However, if you have some affinity for the hits, and have even marginal interest in the deeper aspects of the catalog, it is a bargain. Of course, the notes and pictures in the enclosed book are fabulous, which may go without saying for these guys. No one does it better than Bear Family, and even compared to their high standards, this is a superlative package.

7 discs crammed with tail end prime era Buck. A good amount of the material 40%, or so, is instrumental another 10% is alternate takes and sessions and 10% is Christmas themed. That gives the set a bloated feel, but they have interspersed the differing themes which helps plowing these fields. They have also left in some studio chatter throughout the set giving it a real archival feel. If you appreciate fine telecaster playing along with hot fiddle and steel parts, this is a galaxy of stars. For all others, probably a four. Harvest is in, take up the yoke.

This Buck Owens album was recorded at various sessions between August 1965 and April 1966. There were an incredible four #1 Country hits on this album ("Open Up Your Heart", "Think of Me", "Waitin' in Your Welfare Line" and "Sam's Place"). The album was somewhat of a departure for Buck; instead of the usual mix of leads performed by Buck and various Buckaroos, Buck sings all the leads. Aside from the hits, the other songs on the album are pretty good, too. This is a typically solid Buck Owens album. The CD adds two bonus tracks, which are the single versions of "Open Up Your Heart" and "Think of Me". These are basically the same as the album versions, except they are in mono instead of stereo.

This album shows off what a great innovater Buck was. The highlight is the array of styles that Buck merged to create the Bakersfield sound jump out of the tracks here, like the Mexican guitar influence in "Heart of Glass" and the truly awesome "Think of Me", the surf influence in "Cadillac Lane", and the hillbilly picking on "Open Up Your Heart". Buck was never the greatest lyricist, but he's got some good stuff to work with here in "Heart of Glass" and "Waitin' in Your Welfare Line". I use this album to party and also to mellow out, the guitar licks are just plain relaxing. The only thing missing is Don Rich's hillbilly guitar and vocals are a little underused compared to albums like "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail", but this is still my favorite Buck Owens album.

Here's a 14 song collection from Buck's Album "Open Up Your Heart", provided as a re-release by Sundazed Records. They've done a spectacular job with this effort, as they have done with the remainder of Buck's Studio Albums; you really need to check out the entire collection. This CD contains some of Buck's best work, including "Think Of Me", a Nat Stuckey penned "Waitin in Your Welfare Line", and a rolicking "Sams Place". While the majority of the songs are Buck Owens' penned, there's also contributions from the great Red Simpson and of course, the legendary Don Rich. Get this one while it's still available.

What a great collection! And no one better to do it than Bear Family Records in Germany.. Sure they are a bit more pricey than others but.. There is no one else who pays so close attention to detail in every way. If your a Buck Owens fan then you cannot pass up this fantastic set!

Excellent compilation of the works of Buck Owens during this time period. I would highly recommend this collection for all true fans of the late great Mr. Owens!