Customer Reviews

The Party Never Ends

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're not familiar with Robert Earl Keen, this CD is a great introduction to REK's unique Texas/folk/bluegrass style. It also shines a light on this artist's fantastic gift for telling stories in song, with emotions ranging from humorous, to tender, to bittersweet. His is not the greatest voice in the world; rather, it's the lyrics and musical style that combine to make Robert Earl Keen one of the most noteworthy singer/songwriters on today's music scene. This CD contains many of my favorite REK tunes, including The Front Porch Song, I'm Comin' Home, and the Road Goes On Forever. And I betcha you're gonna recognize a little bit of your own family in the hilarious Merry Christmas From The Family. I would recommend this CD to both newcomers and hardcore REK fans alike.

I've never heard Robert Earl Keen on any station excepting the local NPR station out of Lafayette, LA. I heard him on a show called "The World Cafe." Normally, the NPR crowd is a little too "out there" for me, but "The World Cafe" cranks out some good stuff every once in awhile. Keen fits perfectly on NPR because he isn't one of those plastic country artists we hear on the country stations, but he's ten times as talented as most of them are.

So why is Keen so unknown outside of Texas and NPR? Because he does his own thing, and that's what I love about this album. It compiles some of his better known tunes(or so I've heard, since I've only heard two of his tunes)and has a few live performance moments as well. Those live moments are what won me over. I'd love to see this guy live.

My favorite songs on this album include "Copenhagen," "Mariano," "The Five Pound Bass," and the wonderful live version of "The Bluegrass Widow." If you enjoy Texas artists such as Gary P. Nunn, you'll love this guy's music.

Some argue that his voice is lacking, but the instrumentation and lyrics of each song are pure perfection. He's sort of like Jerry Jeff Walker in that his voice isn't the best, but it gets the message over in such a way that you are captivated into listening to him talk about things like Texas Pride beer and the wonder that is Copenhagen. You'll laugh your way through most of this tunes, but certain songs, especially "Mariano," stick out as some of the most serious country music around these days.

Robert Earl Keen is pure Texas fun and pure Texas proud, and this Louisiana boy highly recommends this album.

This CD is a perfect mix of some of Robert Earl Keen's most "popular" songs -- and a great introduction for the new REK listener... My peronsal favorite Robert Earl Keen CD is "Walking Distnace", but some of it is a bit more mellow. This CD is a good compiliation of some of his most well-known songs... I would recommend this album to any Robert Earl Keen fan -- new, old, or as yet undiscovered!!!

The usefulness of this CD is restricted almost solely to those who are just getting into Robert Earl Keen. This CD also only represents one side of REK, but considering the wealth of essential material the neophyte has to wade through this is only fitting. As the title would suggest, this is a collection of his more uptempo anthems, primarily life affirming singalong tunes (though often death and heartache lurk right around the corner). From a marketing standpoint this had to be a no-brainer. The average newbie is probably going to get into Keen through either his oft-covered "The Road Goes On Forever" or the cheeky "Merry Xmas From the Family". What this collection won't show you is that Keen also has a more introspective, plaintive side, but again: there's enough classics in that idiom to fill a future volume of their own. And this is not to say that Keen's more "rocking" country songs are completely mindless: even the aforementioned "Merry Xmas...", which is often passed off as a Dr. Demento-worthy novelty track, is a perceptive cross-section of your prototypical Texan dysfunctional family. Similarly, "Road Goes On Forever", despite it's singalong chorus and racing fiddles, is at minimum the country version of "Smuggler's Blues", an empathetic tale of two down-and-outers and a botched drug deal which would have set them for life. Ultimately, the main reason to buy this CD is the sell-through price: unless you somehow - incredibly - don't like what REK has to offer, you're going to find yourself seeking out the rest of his CDs sooner or later anyway. If you feel adventurous might as well dive right and start with "Gringo Honeymoon" or "No Kinda Dancer".

When I look for a CD of a favorite artist, I first try to find one that will have most of the songs that I enjoy the best. Then I look for the number of tracks it has, you know, I have to get my monies worth. I also check whether it has live or non-live recordings. When I found Robert Earl Keen's, "The Road Goes on Forever", I discovered that its content had all of those features and was pleasantly surprised to find much more. With songs like, `The Front Porch Song', Merry Christmas from the Family' and `Gringo Honeymoon', you get to know how well of a storyteller Robert E. Keen is while enjoying the music. The songs on this CD are meaningful, words we can relate to, they're funny and fun to sing with. I think Robert's talent is big & I think his voice fits perfect with the cool song's that he sings...I said cool songs, this isn't opera. I think his style has style. I'm thankful for KPIG radio, for introducing his music to me and stores like Amazon.com for making CD's like this available for me to buy. I highly recommend this CD of Robert E. Keen's. Listen; let it take you away, sing with it, laugh & may the party never end.

I contemplated for weeks about this cd and instead bought all his cd's and after hearing them ALL.. This IS the place to start for newbies... It has what I consider to be his best songs.. outside of Mariano which could have been replaced with a much better song or two, but the rest of the disc is nothin' but the best...
I personally recommend this set to firmly grasp what REK is about.. After that you will either get drunk or buy the rest of his albums or BOTH... Have fun - I know I did and still do... Great Great Songs all on one disc.. The Best..


Highly Recommended

I met Robert Keen about 15 years ago at the Kerrville Music festival and was impressed. This album takes me back to the first time I heard him. If you are moved by the lyrics of an artist you'll love this. If I could have only one REK piece this would be it.

I am new to Robert Earl Keen, having recently moved to Texas. We had the chance to hear him live at Flores Country Store in Helotes. What a great performer. This disk gives you a great sample of his sing-along work and is a great way to get started. My personal faves are Copenhagen and the Front Porch Song!

Good CD if you are a casual REK fan. The selections are from three albums - "The Live Album", "West Textures" and "Gringo Honeymoon". If you are only going to buy one REK CD, I guess this would have to be it. But, if you are bitten by the bug like me, you will end up owning ALL of his music!

But the real reason for the low rating is that if you listen to any of Robert Keen's discs through and full, you'll see that there is a theme to each release. He's chosen the order and selections for a reason which gives meaning and underscores the emotion of the songs. This includes the 'novelty' type hits. If you care about the artist's intent in this way, then just buy one of the three complete discs this semi-greatest hits release culls. When Robert plays a live show, he varies the set list each night and picks the songs after the tour bus unloads and he walks around and gets a feel for the place. To a far greater degree, he does the same with his cd's. Why not hear them in the order he intended?