Customer Reviews

Trail

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

 

 

It is hard to imagine a more deft live recording than "Trail," which hauls its listener along with a globetrotting and vital working band. Jimmy LaFave and his gang of musical cohorts ooze integrity from every pore in this collection, and they take American music right into the faces of audiences all over the world. The pacing here is superb and LaFave's tributes to Dylan et al. make it easy to understand how the author of a tune might not be its best interpreter. And LaFave has the ability to bring out the sometimes hidden best in a song, as though a new angle occurs to him right on stage. Every step of the way, he keeps faith with his audience. There aren't many musicians of his caliber who haven't been tempted to stray from what they do best. But LaFave apparently has stayed on the straight and narrow. His dedication shows here, and it has been worth his long years of experience on the road to hear the maturity in these recordings. There is soul here, plenty, plenty soul. And this collection rewards relistening. It gets better and better which each play. Get it! Devour it!

So, you like to go out to those smoky live music clubs where everything's authentic. Well, here's your chance. Jimmy Lafave is famous for his intensity. If you want to hear a guy tear his heat out, Jimmy delivers. Want to hear him at his best, try him when he's in some night dive --Austin to Amsterdam, Stillwater to Switzerland. We're talking bootleg style here, tapes taken when he's pouring his heart out to fans across the globe. That includes the (now) famous tribute to Bob Dylan sessions in Austin and parts across the map. But, if you really want to tap the Jimmy LaFave experience, try him at blues, hear him sing "Have You Ever Loved A Woman." But, don't doubt that the Favester can cover range in the 31 cuts of these two CDs. He can rock too! This may be the very best of all the LaFave offerings so far. When you've listened to these two CDs a few times, you'll feel like you've travelled with Jimmy and his musical Marines across the globe. Get to the end, and if at "Hold On" you aren't tapping your foot with an entertained smile, then book yourself into a home for the criminally music insane. 'Cause this is the real deal. LaFave's for REAL!

A few years ago, I was introduced to Jimmy's music by a friend in Austin, Texas--Jimmy's stomping grounds. With the first song I heard, I knew that I was listening to something very special. I have since purchased all of Jimmy's CDs, and listen to him more than any other artist in my collection.

Life isn't fair, you know. I always listen to Jimmy, and wonder why he isn't a household word. He is truly as good as ANYONE of the pantheon of great rockers, and often covers the superstars' songs better than they did in their originals. That is not, in any way, to take away from his original work, either, which is a wonderful amalgam of American blues, folk, rock, and country.

If you don't own a Jimmy cd, buy one now. I promise you that you will buy the rest of them too.

Once you buy one CD by Jimmy LaFave, you buy all the rest. I've been listening to him all summer and have yet to tire of a single song. The joy his music has brought to me cannot be equaled. This two-CD set of mostly but not all Dylan is one of those desert-island choices. The Favestir -- I love that! -- also seems like the nicest guy on the planet. I echo all the praise of the other reviewers. Bless Jimmy LaFave.

I cant say that Jimmy Lafave really meant all that much to me. Apart, that is, from Going Home, a better song than Bruce Springsteen, for example, ever wrote (although Dead Man Walking comes close). But Trail is a gem in its entirety. Lafave manages to sing songs by the likes of Dylan and Springsteen better than Dylan and Springsteen, as if they were his own. Going Home, by the way, is on it too. It is the heartbraching ache in Lafaves voice that will never stop to amaze me. And touch me, like very few voices do. Absolutely brilliant!

As a newbie to the Texas capitol city (I've lived here barely 2 years), I've tried to see my fair share of local artists. And by far, Jimmy LaFave is THE BEST! He is what I love about Austin! Whenever he makes an appearance at the Cactus Cafe, I try to be there... And his Trails album is by far my favourite! Everyone I've ever lent this CD to has absolutely loved it... Simply, its a must have.

I bought this CD because I had heard one of the songs played by a local DJ....album cost me $18.95 and the one song (I'll Be Your Baby Tonight) is fabulous, but it's the only song on the album that I, personally, like!