Viva Terlingua

Jerry Jeff Walker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 11, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mca Nashville
• ASIN: B000002NX9
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,841 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #96 in Music > Country > Outlaw Country

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

It's no accident that among the great albums Jerry Jeff Walker has made, most of them have been recorded in front of a live audience. If you want to get the feel of the rowdy Texas music scene of the early to-mid-'70s, look no further than ¡Viva Terlingua!, a rowdy, goat-ropin' classic of sing-along mayhem recorded in the tiny town of Lukenbach in the summer of 1973. Walker marshals his Lost Gonzo Band through a number of tunes that went on to become classics, including Guy Clark's "Desperados Waiting for the Train," Ray Wiley Hubbard's anthemic "Up Against the Wall Redneck," and his own "Sangria Wine" and "Gettin' By." The highlight, though, is an extended take on Gary Nunn's "London Homesick Blues," better known to casual Jerry Jeff fans as the theme song for the long-running PBS show Austin City Limits. --Daniel Durchholz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jerry Jeff At His Best, June 23, 2004

By 

Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Viva Terlingua (Audio CD)

This CD really takes me back. I was fresh out of high school, working construction in Phoenix when this came out. One of the guys on the crew had this album and used to crank it up at parties after work. Something about it was mesmerizing. Though Viva Terlingua appeared in the efflorescence of the country-rock/outlaw music scene, it stood out from others of its type in that it really got listeners going. An evening with Viva Terlingua on the turntable often resulted in a mass sing-a-long and howl-in of drunken and stoned revelers.
In addition to the great music, the photos in the album jacket made Texas seem a mighty appealing place to one who hadn't been there. So in 1975, I made a pilgrimage to Luckenbach from Phoenix by hitch-hiking and met all kinds of fine Texas folk including Walker who happened to be there playing dominoes that day. Today, I live less than 30 miles from Luckenbach, but the town itself has been spoiled in my view by a non-stop swarm of tourists who followed on the success of the Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson song about the town.
Now back to the music. Not only did Walker bring wide fame to himself with this classic, he jumpstarted the careers of two fellow Texans (Gary P Nunn and Ray Wylie Hubbard) by covering one song written by each. In addition to the rowdy Hubbard classic Up Against The Wall, Redneck Mother, Jerry Jeff made Nunn's London Homesick Blues one of Texas' most famous songs. There are few people of my generation here who cannot sing at least the refrain.
If those two songs were the only worthwhile songs on the album, then they would earn it a five-star rating by themselves. But there are other great songs here, no less unforgettable. My "best of the rest" are the rollicking Gettin' By and Sangria Wine and the sad and thought-provoking Wheel and Desperadoes Waiting For A Train. Other songs are great, too. Jerry Jeff's vocals are animated, and the band seems that its really caught up in the spirit of the moment.
Viva Terlingua is one of the most important albums of its age and genre, epitomizing the gonzo spirit of the Texas Outlaw music movement. And it features Jerry Jeff Walker at his best.
This is a CD that can be enjoyed by anyone who likes good music regardless of whether or not they like country music in general. I used to play this for hard-rock fan friends whenever I went home from Phoenix to hometown San Diego for a visit. They were skeptics until I put it on. Then they became fans.
If you do not yet own this recording in some form, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. You won't be disappointed.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Essential Jerry Jeff Walker Album, July 3, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Phoenix) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viva Terlingua (Audio CD)

This is Jerry Jeff's finest hour. At his pinnacle in the early 70's backed by the Lost Gonzo Band, you will find these songs agreeably stuck in your head after the CD is over. Among the great songs: "Gettin' By", "Little Bird", "Get it Out", "Sangria Wine", are even better songs. Everybody's heard "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother," but advance the CD player to Gary P. Nunn's "London Home Sick Blues" for the rousing anthem of Austin City Limits--it will make you feel like your "back in that place." Finally, "Desperados Waiting for the Train" may well be Walker's greatest song--better than Mr. Bojangles. It may tear your heart out. No Jerry Jeff fan can be without this album.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A balm for any homesick Texan, August 19, 2000

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Viva Terlingua (Audio CD)

I discovered Jerry Jeff Walker and his gonzo style of progressive country in 1973 and have been a fan ever since. This CD captures JJW live in front of an "energized" crowd...at his best. Backed by the Lost Gonzo Band, this is Texas music, showcasing some of the best and brightest musicians and songwriters . I am on my third copy of this CD having worn out two already, it never leaves my CD rotation. This ia amust have CD for anyone who longs for home.