Customer Reviews

Viva Terlingua

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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"It's Scamp Walker time again!" And with those words, JJW kicks off one of the essential albums of all time (well, at least essential to the times of my life ;-) Once upon a time, a long, long time ago - in a land far, far away, I used to crank up the stereo - remember stereos? - with those heavy vinyl discs that went around at 33 1/3 rpm? - with this hymn just before walking out the door to do battle with final exams: "Just gettin by on gettin by's my stock in trade - livin it day to day, pickin up the pieces wherever they fall. ...Just living my life easy come easy go."

I am glad I got this on CD! Ain't Modern Technology wonderful? Those old fashioned turn-tables just jumped and scratched all over the place when one tried to play a record whilst driving the pick up truck!

OK, everybody sing now:
He was born in Oklahoma
& his wife's name is Betty Lou Thelma Liz
& he's not responsible for what he's doing
`cause his mother made him what he is.
...
M is for the mudflaps you gimme for my pickup truck
O is for the oil I put on my hair
T is for T-bird [in this live at Terlingua concert version]
H is for Haggard
E is for eggs and
R is for REDNECK!!!
in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA

"Gotta put myself back in that place..."

Listening to this JJW retro makes me "wanna go home with the armadillo."

Having grown up hearing this album at summer picnics all over the Texas hill country during the 1970's, I had to get this album to take with me when I leave. To me, this captures what live music was like in that area during that time. After having spent many summer nights at places like Floore's Country Store, Gruene Hall and Cibolo Creek, I can certainly feel at home with this album. Imagine a warm night with cool breezes, cold beer and crickets (whose presence is better heard on the CD of this album...). Toss in the smell of cedar and live oak with a dash of a musty walls and you're all set!

This album is not to be taken as a top-notch, pristine live recording of a legend playing his hits and the audience roars with wild applause after each. This is as laid-back as the scene was back then. And this is a fun show. I would like to someday hear an expanded version of this show with any more material that might have been performed that night.

Then I'd have to get more beer.

Jerry Jeff and the Lost Gonzo band, hitting their stride together.I get this one out more than the others, usually when "I gotta get myself back in that place," (intro to London Homesick Blues). This disc spans the range from tearfully tender on Desperados to roadhouse raw on Sangria Wine. Like a cherished old pickup, it doesn't sound as good as it used to. But it represents an era when, like that beater truck, we all ran harder, pulled stronger, and tried to live like the outlaws who were changing music down in Tejas. Gary P. Nunn nails it when he declares, "Make me feel so good!"

There is not a bad track on this album. Buy it and you will get hooked on JJ Walkers voice, lyrics and if you can't laugh at "Gettin By" and cry at "Wheel" then I know a good therapist you should see. This album is just pure fun.

JJW's well-traveled voice absolutely masters the spare, poignant storytelling of these songs. This set runs the gamut from hilarious kickers like "Redneck" to what is (I believe) the most beautifully sad song ever "Desperados Waiting for a Train." If you want songs steeped in feeling without being maudlin right alongside exuberant tunes you can howl out together with your drinking buddies in the wee hours to wake up the landlord, this one can't be beat. A true American classic.

OK. So, Jerry Jeff Walker isn't a native Texan. As the saying goes, he got here as soon as he could. With "Viva Terlinguia!" he stamped his Texas credentials for all time. It's rather odd that one of the signature anthems on this Texas Music masterpiece isn't a Jerry Jeff song at all! "London Homesick Blues" by Gary P. Nunn is reason enough to own the album. (I have the vinyl from back in the 1970s.) Jerry Jeff Walker burst into the music world in the late 1960s with "Mr. Bojangles," but that was before he came to Texas. This CD is Texas Music with "Sangria Wine" and "Little Bird" penned by Walker. And, he leans heavily on Texas songwriting legend Guy Clark's "Desperados Waiting for the Train" (another reason to own the CD) and Ray Wiley Hubbard's "Up Against the Wall Red Neck." Hubbard once said, don't record a song unless you're prepared to sing it at every gig. "Red Neck Mother" is one of those songs, and Jerry Jeff pulls it off so very well. "Viva Terlingua!" came out in the '70s country cross-over music surge, but this music--This Texas Music--has a life of its own transcending genres and decades.

This was one of the first progressive country albums I owned. I have wore out the album, the 8-track, the cassette, and I purchased the cd when I found it online. It is one of the most wonderful, easy listening, cruising cd's that he has out. I would suggest it to anyone that cares to listen to this kind of music. Thank you Amazon.com for the efficient and timely manner in which you processed the order.