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Track List
Honky Tonk ManSwinging DoorsHey, Good Lookin'Only Daddy That'll Walk That LineMy Shoes Keep Walking Back to YouStay a Little LongerLive Fast, Love Hard, Die YoungI Washed My Hands in Muddy WaterOklahoma HillsMy Bucket's Got a Hole in ItIn the Jailhouse NowIs Anybody Goin' to San AntoneJambalaya (On the Bayou)WaterlooI'm Walking the DogI'm Moving OnBridge Washed Out, TheRednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon BeerAlbum Notes
Personnel: Buck Owens (vocals); Don Rich (electric guitar, fiddle); Jerry Brightman (pedal steel guitar); Ronnie Jackson (banjo); Jim Shaw (piano, organ, background vocals); Jerry Wiggins (drums); Buddy Alan Owens, Doyle Curtsinger (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Brian Kehew.
Liner Note Author: Randy Poe.
Recording information: Buck Owens Studios, Bakersfield, CA (07/19/1972-04/10/1975).
Photographer: Buck Owens.
Arriving less than a year after the gigantic Bear Family set covering Buck Owens' complete Capitol recordings of 1969-1975, Omnivore's 2013 collection Honky Tonk Man: Buck Sings Country Classics offers something unavailable and unexpected from the same period: a collection of 18 classic country covers Buck & the Buckaroos cut for Hee Haw during its heyday in the early '70s. These were recorded for use in the show, but the idea was that Buck would lay down a scratch vocal and then sing live during the show, so these specific versions, containing rough vocals from Owens, have never been heard before. "Rough" is a bit of a misleading description, actually, as it suggests that Buck tossed off these vocals, which is hardly the case. Owens was at his peak as a professional entertainer, as were the Buckaroos, so they played these songs with ease and no small sense of panache. Sometimes, this professionalism can read as slickness -- there is just a glimpse of show biz gloss to "I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water" and "My Bucket's Got a Whole in It" -- but part of the appeal of this collection is hearing how Buck & the Buckaroos can kick out such entertaining versions of well-known songs with little effort. Plus, they always sound like themselves: there may be no great reinterpretation of these largely shopworn songs, but the band doesn't ape the original recordings, either. They simply lay back and cut into a bunch of great standards (Johnny Russell's "Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer" qualifies as one of the rare songs that is lost to time, but it's fun to hear here) and it's tremendous fun to listen to the band play. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewne
Reviews
There are currently no reviews, be the first one!See Also
- Country Legends (Owens, Bennie)
- Merry Christmas From Buck Owens & Susan Raye (Raye, Susan)
- The Very Best of Buck Owens & Susan Raye (Raye, Susan)
- California Country (Haggard, Merle)
