Customer Reviews

Waylon Live (Expanded Edition)

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Waylon Jennings & The Waylors - Texas - Sept, 1974 - three
nites of live recording - FIFTY trax......

RCA released a single LP with 11 of 'em in '76
BUDDHA gave us 9 more in '99

On May 20th - RCA Heritage gave us what we've been waiting for all these years. The original 20 trax that Waylon envisioned for his double LP....PLUS 22 previously unreleased trax.

This is Waylon doin what he did best - FORTY-TWO trax on 2 CD's.

These recordings capture Waylon in the beginning of what would become his prime - and was he on!

You'll hear new releases of the day such as Honky Tonk Heroes, Amanda, and This Time mixed with some of his re-worked material from his early days with RCA (Stop The World & Let Me Off; Anita You're Dreaming) - along with some old standards for good measure (Me n Bobby McGee; Big Ball in Cowtown; House of the Rising Sun). Each and every one of these 42 trax.......regardless of the songwriter or original artist.....fully "Waylon-ized" in a way only he could achieve.

It's all here, everything we came to love about Waylon: his voice.....his humor.....that unmistakable TELECASTER!!.....his Waylors, who at the time consisted of The Great Ralph Mooney on steel (the foot that made Haggard famous); Richie Albright and his famous kick drum; Duke Goff on bass; Billy Ray Reynolds on guitar; Larry Whitmore on 12 string and Roger Crabtree on harmonica.

The only negative aspect of this collection is the 28 1/2 years it has taken to get it completely from the can onto the shelves.

The liner notes and ne'er before seen pix alone are well worth the price of admission.

Usually, performances this powerful aren't captured on record. This time, they were.

From the liner notes by Rich KIENZLE, May 2003:

"The studio was one type of canvas for Waylon; the stage was entirely different, and the crowds seemed to pump him up every time, even near the end. On January 5th & 6th, 2000 -- two years before shaking his mortal coil -- he recorded another live album at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium with guest shots by Jessi, Montgomery Gentry, Travis Tritt and John Anderson. Energized by his audience, he gave a performance so spirited and fiery that it belied his failing health.

This collection incorporates the original WAYLON LIVE LP plus 22 additional tunes from the tapes of those three electrifying nights. Hearing him in his prime, ripping, rocking and roaring nonstop, you might conclude that had Waylon never recorded another note, these incendiary, visceral performances would remain a monument to the genius at the essence of the man himself: pure, unadorned and audacious.

Not to mention thoroughly badassed."

Get yours today then help spread the word. Together we can give Waylon one more Gold record.

Waylon Jennings
1937.06.15 - 2002.02.13
A vagabond dreamer, a rhymer and singer of songs.
A revolutionary in country music.
Beloved by the world.

This album showcases each instrument so well. The steel guitar solos will give you chills. The songs range from rockin' country to slower and mellow songs which are soothing to the ear. If you want to see why Waylon Jennings is a legend, listen to this CD and you will find out very quickly.

If asked to provide a definition for pefection in music, I'd play this CD. It's rough around the edges, and it sure as hell ain't polished, but that's what makes it perfect.

Waylon is in TOP form, the Waylors rock, and the sound is MILES ahead of the terrible sounding 1999 version. The '99 version is clipped and distorted sounding. This version, however, was mastered by Vic Anesini, who has a monster reputation in the business for great sounding mastering... and this is no exception! It's open and pure sounding. The remix is great... which is rare. It doesn't feel like it was mixed after the fact -- it pans things like they did back then, and it doesn't have that modern, ultra-compressed/limited sound that the '99 reissue had. Put simply, the sound is killer. (And I am a sound engineer and an audiophile of sorts.)

The new songs make this feel much more "live" than the original "Waylon Live." Granted, most Waylon shows, until the later years, went for 45-55 minutes but, especially in the early '70s, there was a great feel to the music that really set it apart from the studio recordings. It had a looser, more fun feel to it... and Waylon filled in all the lead guitar himself, which is a major bonus.

There is no Waylon release that is more essential than this one. The best live album you'll ever hear... no doubt.

Do yourself a favour and buy this... now.

This is Waylon at his best. This album, re-issued with 9 bonus tracks, is THE live album to own (along with Waylon's new "Never Say Die: Live," which is on-par with this one). Recorded in Texas over two nights, this great album combines a rockin', tough Waylon Jennings with two rowdy crowds who want just that -- a rockin', tough Waylon.

This album starts off with a rockin' version of Jimmie Rodgers' "T For Texas" and ends with Waylon's 1974 #1 hit, "This Time." In-between those we get 11 excellent tracks, including a rough and rowdy "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean," a rockin' "(I'm A) Ramblin' Man," a few softer-type ballads, the 1976 smash-hit "Good Hearted Woman" (the version on this album is the one they overdubbed Willie Nelson's vocals onto and became a hit), and one track which could have been a huge hit had it been released on the original album: "Never Been To Spain." Every other track is as good as those I've mentioned.

This is one of the Waylon albums that should definitely be in your collection. You will not regret purchasing this gem. Another great re-issue from Buddha Records.

(And to the reviewer who mentioned the high levels on this CD: it's the way the album was mastered for CD. If you listen to the two tracks from this album on "Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line: The RCA Years," they sound fine, with no clipping, but they don't have the same drive and power behind them. I think it's really meant to be a LOUD album.)

I sorta lost track of Waylon Jennings about 15 years ago. Something jogged my memory and I thought just for old times sakes I'd buy this CD. Wow! Now I remember why I liked him back in the 1970s. Waylon rocks. This is gritty, hard-charging music by a lonesome, onry, and mean guitar picker who looks as tough as he sounds. The liner notes say this album has a snarling sound and so it does: pedal steel and harmonica back up heavy guitar work. Nobody ever said that Waylon had a pretty voice. He is a little reminiscent of Johnny Cash as a singer: deep and profound, a little off key, and he has trouble saying words fast enough to keep up with the music. He has a walking beat that's a little like Cash too. But, Waylon is noisier and harder rocking than Cash. He sings a lot of the same songs as his buddy, Willie Nelson, but Willie is acoustic and Waylon is electric. Anyway this is good country, or country rock, or outlaw country, whatever you want to call it. There's no one song on this CD that stands out -- because they're all good. The only think I wish is that he would have included a couple of cowboy tunes: Mamas, Dont Let your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys and My Heroes have always been Cowboys. Oh, well. Next album. All in all, this is about 100 times better that that insipid stuff they call Country these days.

I just watched the latest "Country Music Awards" television presentation and it is amazing how far country music has fallen. This Waylon album, recorded at the zenith of country music is a stripped down, raw, electrifying recording of a band with so much talent that Nashville could not touch it. In the current era of slick, gilded, studio produced, over-manufactured vehicles for pretty, effiminate "country" singers posessing dubious talent, this album is a true testament to the musical genius of Waylon Jennings and the men that formed his band. Today's "country" music stars don't hold a candle to Waylon, and this album is all the proof you need.

I first saw Waylon perform live in 73, a year before this was recorded. This was in a high school gymnasium in Vernal Utah. He was about an hour and a half late and the audience was in a very non receptive mood by the time he arrived. His bus had encountered heavy snow traveling from Denver. At the beginning of the performance the audience was very cool. We were sitting in the first row and my daughter looked up at him and said " mommy, where's Waylon?" This got a big smile from him. From that moment, it seemed he was singing especially for us. He put on a very incredible performance. The audence soon forgave his late arrival. At the time, I wasn't very familiar with his music but from that evening's performance, I became a life long fan. I own more Waylon albums that any other performers. I also saw Waylon's Outlaw's tour and Are You Ready For The Country tours. they were very good , but none could compare to the first performance. This live collection captures much of that early magic and includes many more great songs than the original release. If you aren't a Waylon fan, get this one, you soon will be. Already a fan? This is a MUST !

a superb live album released at last as it was intended by the great man.listen to the grunt from ol'waylon at the intro to "t for texas",you can feel it's gonna'be a good one.the pathos and sadness he puts across during "the last letter"is touching.this cd left me asking myself"what the hell ever happened to country music"? buy this and remember when it gladened the soul and touched your heart and made you just feel plain good..pick it,waylon!

Waylon at his best!!! Lots of energy lacking in his studio recordings. Country rock, or outlaw music as it was called in 1976, doesn't get any better than this! This tells it all. HIGHLY recommend.

I have a huge music collection, and would consider myself as well-versed in country music as most. "Waylon Live" was one of my top 5 country albums when it was an 11 track LP. Now, it's a 42 track, 2 CD set. I honestly feel that Waylon may have been the best musical artist in the world in the early seventies. He had struggled for years to find his sound (and the freedom to express it). When he finally did, the passion and intensity was amazing. As soon as he made it, self-parody, drugs and "tongue in cheek" humor took the wind out of his "musical sails". The peak of Waylon's powers are captured here, and (IMO)there has never been a release that is any better. Waylon had a completely unique sound, Ralph Mooney is amazing, and the songs are uniformly great. This is desert island stuff. Thank you Waylon for sharing your talent, and thank you RCA for FINALLY releasing this the way it should be (although I know, this would have been a 4 LP(!) set!).