Lonesome, On'ry And Mean: A Tribute to Waylon Jennings

Waylon Jennings

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 15, 2003)
• Original Release Date: March 18, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dualtone Music Group
• ASIN: B00008L40X
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,863 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Though his outlaw persona defined the late Waylon Jennings in the minds of many, this tribute underscores the expansive range of both his artistry and his influence. As with Dualtone's Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash, producers Dave Roe and Chuck Mead (from BR549) go beyond the obvious in both artist and song selection. Guy Clark's laid-back acoustic rendition of "Good Hearted Woman" makes the song sound like one of his own, while the sophistication of supper-club piano informs "Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)" as interpreted by Norah Jones. Punk-rock renegades John Doe and Henry Rollins, roots-rocker Dave Alvin, and country mainstays Cowboy Jack Clement (in a trans-generational duet with Pam Tillis) and Kris Kristofferson all find a kindred spirit in Jennings. With "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way," Robert Earl Keen subjects one of Jennings's best-known anthems to the album's most radical rearrangement, but many of the interpretations are more faithful to the originals. Junior Brown's "Nashville Rebel" could pass as a Waylon soundalike, and Radney Foster slips as comfortably into "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" as if it were favorite flannel shirt. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Barely leaves my CD player, April 28, 2003

By	Stephen P. Hagan (Carbondale, IL United States) - See all my reviews

As a musical nut raised on Folk and outlaws, Waylon is an everyman for me, the liner notes alone in this tribute are worth the money. The story from Alejendro Esceveda just struck me warm. The Norah track is perfect, but im a Norah-phile so most everything she does is. I am rather partial to the Keen and Rollins tracks as well. But the best for me is Kris Kristofferson, doing "I Believe". The song he sung at Waylons funeral, just that alone brings a tear to my eye. There are other wonderful tracks Clarks Good Hearted Woman and Storms never Last by Allison Moorer come to mind.
As for the first reviewer, sure some of these songs were written by other people it even says that in the liner notes. Outlaw Country and Waylon Jennings werent about writing the best songs, they were about a mindset and entertainment. Cash does other peoples songs all the time always has. But these songs are still Waylon.. part of a man who has left this world.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Waylon Jennings. Personified., April 16, 2003

By	"p_bauer" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

I thought this album was excellent. No, it's not a greatest hits album, and that's what drew me to it even more. This album introduces a collection of songs for the distinguishing Waylon fan because it goes past the obvious. It emphasizes the essence of Waylon's song, and that made it very solid. I also liked the fact that the artists introduced their own contributions to the songs; Norah Jones' rendition of `Wurlitzer Prize' was absolutely wonderful, Robert Earl Keen as he performed `Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way' was incredible, as was Henry Rollins' interpretation of `Lonesome, On'ry and Mean' which definitely rocked. I highly recommend this album to all fans of Waylon Jennings. This one is definitely not one to be passed up.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Carlene Carter Returns?, April 18, 2003

By A Customer

Not quite sure what the first reviewer is talking about...But, check out her other bizarro reviews by clicking her name.

OK, now onto the CD: There have been a slew of this country tribute CDs, featuring a bunch of artists whose contributions pale mightily compared to the person they are feteing. Which raises the question: Why listen to a collection of covers by lesser artists?

In the case of Waylon, though, his music is so vastly underappreciated and has not been widely covered by others. This is among the first time many of his classics have been touched by anyone else. That makes Lonesome Ornry and Mean at least a little more interesting than the tribute records to Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, the Beatles, etc.

Particularly interesting: The return of Carlene Carter on Waylon's semi-autobiographical "I've Always Been Crazy." Given Carter's plight in recent years, the ease with which these lyrics fit her is eerie. She's not in great voice here, but I still hope this marks her return to active recording.

Much better is Norah Jones's killer "Wurlitzer Prize" (back in the day, the under-appreciated flip side of the "Luchenbach Texas" single). And, wow, does "Good Hearted Woman" fit Guy Clark's style to a tee. "Let's All Help the Cowboy Sing the Blues" is an odd cover by Jack Clement -- odd because he wrote it to begin with. Junior Brown's "Nashville Rebel" is great -- a rarely heard song with Brown doing his best Waylon imitation. "Waymore's Blues" is such a great song that it can't be marred by a reconstituted Crickets. Allison Moorer acquits herself well on "Storms Never Last," though this is actually from the Jessi Colter catalog (admittedly, Waylon and Jessi did a duet cover of this in the 1980s). Kudos to Kristofferson for covering an underappreciated Highwaymen track.

Less successful: "Amanda" by Dave Alvin is even duller than the original. Robert Earl Keen's "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" seems to confirm his downward trajectory. And Henry Rollins' predictable rave up of the title track makes you realize how much better Waylon was at rocking without pyrotechnics or pretention.

Lots of Waylon's catalog from his RCA glory days have never been released on CD. The greatest tribute of all here would be a renewed interest in Waylon's music that spurs an aggressive reissue program by RCA or others.