Customer Reviews

Storyteller: Live at the Bluebird

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This live recording comes from the Bluebird Cafe,Nashville,January 24,1992.Billy Joe is joined by son Eddie on acoustic guitar, and family friend Keith Christopher playing acoustic bass.The Bluebird has long been a great venue for acoustic music.
The 14 songs included here were all written by Billy,and include such greats as Georgia on a fast train,Honky Tonk Heroes,Highway of Life.Billy talks and tells tales,his wife Brenda is sitting front row enjoying it all.Included is the new song Live Forever,which has become such a meaningful song since Eddies passing.His playing on the acoustic guitar is pure joy--he could tear it up with the best of them,but his acoustic playing sets him above them all--he is sadly missed,but will always be in our hearts.
This CD is a wonderful release and essential for all fans of Shaver,Texas music, and just pure great songs performed by one of the best.Sound is great,includes a nice review of the show by Todd Snider who was there and has since become a great friend of Billys.

This recording is amazing from beginning to end; I only wish this had been a double CD. Billy Joe Shaver is, well, Billy Joe Shaver; hearing these songs is the only explanation needed to understand why so many other country greats sing Mr. Shaver's compositions. Even his banter between some of the tunes is entertaining. Shaver is always comically self-deprecating, and it's evident that he doesn't just write songs and sing about getting drunk, landing in jail, watching a good woman walk out the door, and all the rest of the hard living that makes for great country music; he's lived it and still lives it. And don't be put off by the fact that this is an "intimate acoustic performance;" Eddie Shaver's guitar solos generate all the heat, smoke, and flash you could want, and they're all the more effective without the distraction of a full band. It's all raw rockabilly. The second guitarist, Keith Christoper, is no slouch either, and the interplay between his flat-picking and Eddy Shaver's hot leads and slide work is, to me, as good as country music gets. Add Billy Joe's lyrics, melodies, and that goofy Texas hillbilly voice of his, and you've got three chords and a cloud of dust with all the pathos and humor needed to make this a classic. Highly recommended.