Customer Reviews

Together Again & My Heart Skips a Beat

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If CD's wore like records, my copy of this one would have lots of crackles, pops and skips by now. To this day, Buck Owens' contribution to country music has been under-rated, notwithstanding the credit he justly receives for the "Bakersfield" sound. In fact, it could be argued that Buck ruled the roost of country music in the 60's.

For certain, you won't hear anything resembling these cuts on today's so-called "country" radio stations. While any of the Buckaroos material is great listening, this one is my favorite and every cut is strong. Twangy Telecasters and sweet pedal steel make for that classic Buckaroo sound.

If you like old-style country and don't have this CD, get it, particularly if you're not familiar with Buck or can only envision him as a side-kick on "Hee-Haw".

In my book, Buck is right up there with Hag and George Jones, and there is no better Buck CD than this one. Highly Recommended!

If you want to see where today's country came from, this is required listening. But listening to this CD is not simply an academic exercise. It is also enjoyable to listen to, even today.

It is amazing how much influence on music Buck has had. "Act Naturally" and "Save the Last Dance For Me" were covered by other groups and who can forget his harmonies. Many of these tunes hit the charts when they were new.

If you only know Buck from his goofy skits on Hee-Haw you owe it to yourself to listen to these tunes.

When I first bought this one I didn't take it out of the player for two weeks. Even if you don't like what passes for country music nowadays you should give Owens a chance. I challenge anyone not to sing along with Truck Drivin' Man, Act Naturally, or Storm of Love. There really isn't a weak song on it though I think these are the standouts.

Life must be pretty good when the both sides of your single duke it out for the #1 spot on the chart. This is exactly what happened when Owens released the title single of this album -- each side spent a week-and-a-half in the #1 slot, with the flip taking a turn at #2. And why not? Owens and the Buckaroos were at the peak of their musical and performing powers; over the few years they'd been recording for Capitol they'd sharpened and strengthened every aspect of their music.

Buck Owens wrote what seemed like an endless streak of songs whose lyrics and melodies lodged in listener's memories. The Buckaroos, already a group whose interpersonal musical chemistry was unparalleled in the field, refined and expanded their Bakersfield sound, and the hot mixes on their records literally leaped out of AM radios. The remastering for Sudazed's CD reissues shows off just how well these records were produced and engineered in the first place.

At the core of the Buckaroos sound are Owens' voice and the telepathic harmony singing of Don Rich. It's no wonder that Owens felt his musical career was mortally wounded with Rich's death in 1974. Their singing is a textbook of how a duet singer simultaneously leads and reinforces his or her partner. Each singer is singly impressive, but the intertwining of their voices, the surge of energy when Rich kicks in with a harmony, is spine-tingling. Song after song, whether originals, honky-tonk classics, or pop covers, Owens and Rich take ownership of the lyrics and melodies.

Beyond the double A-side, the album is filled with stellar honky-tonk songs, including Red Simpson's two-stepper "Close up the Honky Tonk," and weepers from Hank Cochran ("A11," a hit for Johnny Paycheck) and Owens himself ("I Don't Hear You"). The romantic euphoria of Terry Fell's classic "Truck Drivin' Man" must have directed more than a few young fans to a life on the road, and the shuffle-beat remake of The Drifters "Save the Last Dance For Me" completely obscures the original rock 'n' roll hit.

One of the album's inventions, bringing drums to the fore on "My Heart Skips a Beat," was Owens' idea, but carried out by Ventures drummer Mel Taylor. With the Buckaroos between stick men, Owens had recruited Taylor for the track, and arranged the song with pauses for polite tom-tom rolls. It's hard to imagine now (especially given Nashville's current embrace of highly produced drum sounds) that such a gentle percussion accent could cause an uproar, but apparently many of Owens' fans didn't much cotton to it at the time.

The bonus tracks include two of Owens' biggest (and best) singles, "Love's Gonna Live Here," and "Act Naturally." The optimism of the former spreads throughout the lyrics, melody and accompanyment, sweeping the listener into its happy bubble. The latter (Owens' first #1) is more likely than any other song to have expanded Owens' fame beyond country music: the Beatles recorded a hit cover just a year after this LP was released.

This album is as fine an example of Owens' and the Buckaroos' musicality and hit-making abilities as you'll find on a single disc. With so many musical highpoints, there's simply no room for filler.

I bought it 3 years ago and since that time I have purchased every Buck Owens CD I could get my hands on. I now have a total of 27 Buck Owens CDs, but this is still one of my favorites. This is one of those albums that you can listen to from begining to end without having to skip over any duds. This is definately one of the best albums that Buck ever made.

This album by Buck Owens was released in 1964. The title songs were from a single that saw both sides become #1 hits. That was the first time both sides of a single reached #1 on the Country charts. The album included one other hit song, which was a cover of the Drifters' song "Save the Last Dance For Me". Other than the hits, there were a number of other great songs on the album, including "Close Up the Honkey Tonks", "Truck Drivin' Man", "A-11", "Hello Trouble" and "Ain't It Amazin' Gracie" (the latter became a hit when Buck re-recorded it nine years later). The CD adds two bonus tracks, which are the #1 hits "Love's Gonna Live Hear" and "Act Naturally". This is one of Buck's best albums.

Another fine Buck Owens Cd released by Sundazed Records; they've done a great job of re-releasing his collection. This Cd was originally released in 1964, but the sound is incredibly clear. "Together Again/My Heart Skips A Beat" provides 14 of Buck's songs, including a few of his biggest hits: "My Heart Skips a Beat", "A-11", "Hello Trouble", and the greatest Steel Guitar solo yet, "Together Again". The world lost one of the finest stylists ever when Buck recently passed away.....here's your chance to own a little bit of that magic. I'm not sure how long these albums will remain available, but you'd be wise to grab them while you can.

Let me start by saying that i own hundreds of CD'S but mostly all rock and blues music. Though this summer i took a trip to Nashville (actually i was playing down there). And everynite down there(im from Detroit) there is music in all the Honky Tonks. Honestly i HATE new country music, Kenny Chesney to me is like a male Jessica Simpsin wearing a cowboy hat, basically just pop music. This Buck Ownens album, is pure country with sad lyrics, beautiful harmonies(john and paul style)and catchy hooks that leave ya wanting more. Now back to nashville, when i was down there i kept hearing these songs late at nite, and i loved em. And now i know it was Buck Owens, Nashville and country music needs Buck forever. SO I hope you buy this...or just go to Nashville..

This is country at it's finest. If you have a guitar and like to sing old country stuff, you will probably like this CD.

This is exactly the kind of record one should get if they want to know what country music is all about. And like others have said, don't judge him only on the corny things he's done on TV, his music should be essentiel in a true country music lovers' collection. To be honest, I hated country when I was growing up (with the exception for Johnny Cash, of course), but now I love a great country record (not including the junk that passes for country). So, if your looking for real country/honky tonk, this would be the one to get.