Customer Reviews

Pearls in the Snow

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ignore my close association with this effort and understand this: I would not have joined this 2 year journey had i not believed in my heart that "Pearls In The Snow" would showcase the cream of the Tradional Country Crop! Songs by Kinky, produced by Nashville's brightest new "studio magic lady", Kacey Jones, and performed with mind blowing emotion by the true blood of Real Country: Willie, Lyle, Dwight, Marty, Lee Roy, Guy, Asleep At The Wheel, and many more. It delivers smoked Texas Music on butcher paper. Eat it with your hands and let the sauce stain your sole forever...

This is the best album of ANY genre so far this year. I was blown away by this album. The roster of artists who contributed to this album is impressive, but the real joy is hearing these "Pearls", as indeed they are. Kinky Friedman, for all his success as a mystery writer, is one of the most overlooked songwriters in modern American music. GET THIS RECORD!! You will not be disappointed. On a cautionary note, however, if you like this record and would like to hear more Kinky Friedman, though there are several records out there, the best are: Sold American, Kinky Friedman, and maybe Lasso from El Paso. Steer clear of Old Testaments... and the other live performance compilations,unless you're a total Kinkophile. But "Kinky Friedman", for example, contains the bulk of his collaborations with the legendary and enigmatic Panama Red (Good luck finding a record by HIM, and I don't mean Peter Rowan!), featured as a co-writer on "Pearls in the Snow" on "Autograph", as performed by Delbert McClinton, and "Homo Erectus" featuring the Texas Jewboys. This record will stand up a long, long time. You'll be glad you bought it. "Pearls in the Snow" is a treat.

There may be better tribute albums out there, but I don't know about them. An all-star cast delivers the goods here. I'll just mention a few of my favorite tracks: Willie's version of "Ride 'em Jewboy," while not quite as heartfelt as Kinky's own, is excellent. Guy Clark, a great singer-songwriter himself, does justice to "Wild Man From Borneo," a song with depth that popular music seldom reaches. Marty Stuart's version of "Lady Yesterday" is great; Billy Swan (remember him?) does an especially beautiful take on "When the Lord Closes the Door." I should mention that Jonathan Yudkin plays absolutely beautiful violin on that one. I can't quite get into "Ol' Ben Lucas," though. They could have left that one off, but that would have ignored another side of the Kinkster, I suppose. This album is a unique document that is an essential part of any serious country collection. The final track, "You're Welcome, Kinky," is pretty whacked. I don't want to give away the ending here, though.

I'm hardly Jewish, but "Ride Em Jewboy" and a couple others make this record well worth the buy. "Ride Em Jewboy" is one of the prettiest songs in the world. I think I like Kinky Friedman. He's not PC (a plus) and he's not afraid of his own testosterone (a definite plus). At the same time, his songs reveal a sensitive soul, a real gentleman.

Texas has managed to grace the world with many great Sons and Daughters, but two stand out... John Henry Faulk, (who should have a bronze statue in every courthouse in Texas), and Kinky. Drink Deep from this Tribute to Kinky; but Politically Correct Be Warned: this CD will produce frothing at the mouth, (but then you probably froth at the mouth at everything anyway...)

The many talented artists who appear on this c.d. have paid tribute indeed to Kinky Friedman. The producer, Kacey Jones, has done a superb job and if Kinky had a lick of sense he'd offer to marry her immediately. If Kacey has a lick of sense, she'll decline!

True to form, Willie Nelson does a superb rendition of "Ride em Jewboy". A friend first heard this cut while driving around "The Big Apple" last spring and parked his car on a Manhattan sidewalk in order to have a better listen. He reported that it gave him a delightful, yet somehow eerie feeling to hear Willie sing an old Kinky song. Thus began our search for "Pearls".

"Get Your Biscuits in the Oven (and your buns in the bed)" is performed by Tompall Glaser with apparent sensitivity to the delicate subject matter.

Best of all is Kinky's own version of "Marilyn and Joe". He's written and performed many songs but this depicts Kinky at his best. Co-written with Sharon Rucker more than twenty years ago, "Marilyn and Joe" is a touching and heartfelt song of love. On its own, this one is worth the price of the c.d..

Dwight Yoakam, Lyle Lovett, Delbert McClinton et al have paid tribute to a living legend - the one, the only, Kinky Friedman. Thanks for the Kinky memories and keep them coming Kacey.

In this day and age, when gross-out jokes pass for comedy, it's a pleasure to come across an artist who is able to mix satire with sincere feeling. He's funny and his social commentary is unbeatable. I especially love "They ain't makin' Jews like Jesus anymore," and "Highway Cafe."

The rendition of `Autograph' by Delbert McClinton in this CD is one of the best songs I have ever heard. I found it first on the internet, and it was only when I was trying to find chords to play it myself that I discovered that Kinky Friedman wrote this gem. "When rock n' roll was real" is the feeling that gets captured so well I can hardly believe it myself. I finally bought the CD and discovered that the corny Texas Jewboys have a lot of humor and become the perfect illustration of "They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore."

I recently became a fan of Don Imus and through his unique radio/MSNBC talk show I heard the songs of Kinky Friedman and was instantly hooked. I couldn't wait to have my own CD and ordered it immediately.(now I want a second CD for my mini van) The lyrics absolutely blow me away and I'm listening to nothingelse at this time. What a talent this man is and certaintly "one of a kind."Each artist on this CD is great and each is a fine fine interpreter of the story, words and mood of Kinky's songs. I will read the reviews of other Kinky Friedman recordings and will surely order again. Pearls in the Snow will be an excellent gift for several people in my family also. Thankyou Kinky (thankyou Imus.)

Tried reading one of Kinky's books and hated it, but enjoy him on Imus so thought I'd try the CD. Many good performances, but Dwight Yoakam and Lee Roy Parnell top my list. Not quite a five-star because of "Ol Ben Lucas" and this version of "They Ain't Making Jews..." (And what's with "You're Welcome Kinky? ")