Customer Reviews

Satisfied at Last

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I listened to about half of the album while driving yesterday. About three songs into it, I thought, "Wow! This really sounds like Joe Ely again. These songs are nice." The sound is both simple and multi-layered. It doesn't sound forced, the songs feel like they come from the heart, and his voice feels natural.

Satisfied At Last includes the wistful classic "Live Forever" which Ely's been playing in concert for the last three or four years, and a few songs written by fellow Flatlander Butch Hancock, whose songs Ely always shines on (Think of "If You Were A Bluebird"). A few stand-outs are "Not That Much Has Changed," "You Can Bet I'm Gone," "Leo & Leona," "Mockingbird Hill," and the title track, "Satisfied At Last." He's playing a lot from this album in his current show -- and they sound great together with his other songs.

(There's an excellent article and interview with Joe Ely in the current issue of a magazine called LoneStarMusic where he talks about this album and others, as well as musicians he's worked with.)

Satisfied At Last feels like a more comprehensive CD than either Streets of Sin, Rattlesnake Gulch or Silver City. Those albums all have some very good songs on them (particularly Hard Luck Saint, Fightin' For My Life, 95 South, and That's Why I Love You Like I Do from those albums), but Satisfied At Last has a feeling of continuity and completeness that many of the best albums have.

That's probably pretty hard to accomplish on top of writing and producing individual songs.

I don't know yet if this is as good as "Letter To Laredo" or "Twistin' In The Wind" but it feels like it might just be that good -- and I'm still listening. Nice record, Joe.

"Satisfied At Last" is a truly beautiful collection of recordings from one of Texas' finest songwriters and performers. It includes some wonderful new tunes from Ely, as well as two excellent songs written by his compadre Butch Hancock (""Leo and Leona" and "Circumstance",) and the poignant "Live Forever" by Billy Joe Shaver.

It features an all-star cast of musicians (including guitarists David Grissom, Rob Gjersoe, Mitch Watkins, David Holt, Jeff Plankenhorn, Teye, Keith Davis, and Fred Stitz; master accordion player Joel Guzman; pedal steel virtuoso Lloyd Maines; and Austin favorites Glenn Fukunaga on bass and Pat Manske and Davis McLarty on drums.)

It's the kind of CD that gets better and better the more you listen to it. Definitely a must-have for fans of Joe Ely (or fans of great music in general!)

The many strengths of Joe Ely's new recording, Satisfied At Last, are readily apparent--the songs are unforced and effective, the production sound gracefully presenting them without an overabundance of layers, the performances are top-notch, and Joe Ely's singing voice is as strong as it's ever been--perhaps even better--its toughness movingly tempered by wistfulness and wisdom.

Some highlights for me include "Roll Again," the sultry, ska + blues touches presenting an effective short number; "You Can Bet I'm Gone" has a solid, grounded sound and a sublimely hilarious backstory (as Ely mentioned on stage recently, he read an obituary in a small town newspaper describing the last wishes of a skeet-shooting aficionado, who wanted to be cremated, then have his ashes loaded into shotgun shells and his friends shoot him into the sky); "Not That Much Has Changed," a meditation on the continuities of life and career, features a hook-line that subtly rearranges three of the four main chords used in the verse part (I, IV, V, vi) while he sings "Not that much has changed/It's all just rearranged"; and his touching rendering of Billy Joe Shaver's "Live Forever" (see Why Not Dream's comments on this above).

There are only five artists whose CD I will buy without a first listen: John Fogerty, Webb Wilder, The Blasters, Dave Edmunds and Joe Ely. "Satisfied at Last" is going to become one of my most listened to Joe Ely records. The guitar work on this album is phenomenal and the production is superb. I've followed Joe Ely since first seeing him open for The Clash at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles some 30 years ago or more (by the way, I thought he blew the Clash off the stage), and he has never disappointed. Not only is the music great, but his songs always tell great tales. I love his take on the Shaver tune, "Live Forever", and I find myself continually going back and listening to "Mockingbird Hill" and "Circumstance". Thank you Joe for a collection of great tunes!

Austin-based singer/songwriter/musician Ely's first studio-recorded album in four years will be a "must have" for Ely fans (you know who you are) and there are enough fine tracks on the album to grab the ears of those just discovering him. Some may know him as part of the band The Flatlanders, which includes his buddies Butch Hancock and Jimmie Daly Gilmore. Though neither of the other Flatlanders makes an audio appearance here, Ely includes two of Hancock's compositions, one of which " "Leo and Leona" was a standout track for me. The other non-Ely-penned song is "Live Forever". This Billy Joe Shaver tune is another standout performance - in this case because of the production - with a super accordion break by Joe Guzman - rather than for the lyrics. And Ely is in great voice. I hit the "reply" button twice on this track.

Of Ely's own compositions among the 10 tracks here - the lead-off song "The Highway is My Home" is the true winner - in both lyrics and production.

If I find fault at all in this album, it is that on nearly all the songs Ely never seems to change the inflection in his voice - whether it's a slow or fast song - and not all the tracks are at the same quality level. So, though others may disagree, I had to drop my rating to four stars. It's a really good album; just not a five-star one.

Steve Ramm

"Anything Phonographic"

Joe Ely is real. This music is for real. The images are real because his life is real. The person is real because he has no pretensions. Just a guy looking up at the sky while taking a piss by the side of the road. The Highway Is His Home. He is going to live for ever because he has lived forever. How far do I go with Joe Ely. Introduced the Clash to Joe Ely music. They became friends. Worked with Chet Helms to put them on the same stage. Joe Strummer died a few years ago. That broke my heart. I have cried many a night about not having Joe's voice and words out there. The other Joe lived and lives on... This album is all Texas. Coming in and leaving Texas...I came from New Mexico to the East Coast 1993. I always belonged in El Paso. I know some parts of Texas. Joe Ely is Texas. He also has been criss crossing the country and seeing and showing the rest of us the United States. How many nights How many different places have I been in town and ended up at a Joe Ely show. Muchos Now you can get Joe Ely at his best in years...because this album is reflection back from where he came from-Texas. Sometimes Joe Ely songs and records are just reflections of the night. Places he is passing through and wants to share his trips with us. This album is real and reflective. This is what Joe remembers. Thanks Joe. Satisfied At Last

I love Joe Ely! When I hear his songs, it brings back memories of Texas, the State I grew up in! I love hearing his stories and love his tunes! Makes me smile!

I agree with others that this is the best Ely release in years. I like it better than anything since 2003's "Streets of Sin," which is very good. Joe's brand of country/rock hasn't aged, and he is in fabulous voice.

The best cuts for my money are "Mockingbird Hill," "Not That Much Has Changed (with great steel from Ely compatriot Lloyd Maines), and the Butch Hancock tune "Circumstance." Not sure if this would convert those that aren't Ely fans, but for those of us that are, this is another welcome addition to an already deep catalog of great music.

Joe Ely does a great job on this "Satisfied at Last" CD. He is full of energy and new stuff, unlike many of the boomer era Texas songwriters. The songs are crisp, song writing is Joe like in that they are not overly complex and easily followed. My only gripe is that he covers Shaver's Live for Ever and that has been done to death. Otherwise, his voice is holding up really really well, and his background band is amazing

Joe Ely has made an album for all us hippies/punks/anarchists who are getting old and are looking down a short road to mortality. Most of what he's recorded here deals with embracing life and flipping off death. Wait, doesn't he mention Day Of The Dead in 'Leo And Leona'? His compositions shine and he picks some winners from Butch Hancock and Billy Joe Shaver. Picking winners has alway been one of his strengths-check out Tom Russell's 'Gallo Del Cielo' on 'Live At Antone's', but I digress. Anyhoo, I've fallen in love with 'Live Forever' and 'I'm A Man' reaffirms something about Joe Ely that a lot of us figured out a long time ago and the New Country clowns and gangsta rappers still don't know. If you're a man and an honest man, you don't have to waste time playing macho. Thanks, Joe.