Customer Reviews

In Person

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Charley Pride, African-American honkytonker, occupies an uneasy spot in the pantheon of country-music legends. On this classic live album he acknowledges as much in a discomfitingly funny bit of patter: "I get a lot of questions asked me, says 'Charley, how'd you get into country music, and why you don't sound like you're supposed to sound?'" The audience reacts to this bit of honesty with palpable nervousness, but Pride clearly is drawing on his fans' adoration to help him craft what is, simply put, a flawless release by one of country's best artists. His stage presence is warm and relaxed, his singing poised and restrained. He does not fail to wring every bit of emotion out of tearjerkers and hell-raisers alike, however, and he chooses great songs, whether his own hits or country standards. The small band accompanying him suits his powerful delivery better than his studio albums' lush arrangements, and the incomparable Lloyd Green is by turns witty and mournful on the steel guitar; Green very nearly steals the show, in fact.

I've been a fan of country music all my life -- from the time I used to ride along listening to WWVA AM in my Father's delivery truck when I was a young boy until today, as I sit with Willie Nelson playing in the background in my law office in New York City. There have been some great live and studio country albums -- Johnny Cash at Folsom prison, Willie's Red Headed Stranger etc. In my opinion, Charlie Pride In Person is the GREATEST COUNTRY ALBUM EVER MADE. That last punctuation mark was a period. No country music fan who gets ahold of this album will regret it.

All the above statements are true, except for the small but very important misidentification of the musician playing pedal steel. That man, one of the greatest steel players of all time -- turning in one of the greatest live steel performances to ever hit tape, is Lloyd Green.

Beautiful and essential.

I've listened to this album many, many times and it brings back fond memories. My mom worked at Panther Hall from the day it opened until it closed. Charlie Pride came to our house in Ft. Worth for supper one time. The neighbors were all gossiping about the black man at our house, until the next day when they learned who he was. Then it was question after question about Charlie. In answer to those questions, he was a wonderful country boy. Always saying Ma'am to my mother. I had a cheap guitar and he saw it. He picked it up after supper and played around on it. He also tuned it. I asked him to play Kaw-Liga, the only song I really knew from him at the time, and he did. As I said, fond memories. If you can find this album, grab it!