Friday, February 26, 2010
Live From Austin, Texas (2006)
On first listen, this concert seems stronger than the Live at Billy Bob’s from 2007. What’s interesting about this set list is that every single song is a huge hit. Willie never has to pad out his set list with filler. He can pack it with wall-to-wall platinum. It is almost too much, though, like eating just icing. Sometimes you need a little cake. You can’t take just pure hits. Mickey Raphael’s harmonica has a pleasingly different sound with the live acoustics. This concert has all the standard Willie runs: “Whiskey River”-“Stay A Little Longer” and the Funny/Crazy/Night Life medley. This one is especially trippy. I’m really looking forward to listening to the dozen or more versions of this medley I can dig up and comparing them head-to-head. This one won’t be the best, but it has some original qualities that make it stand out. The harmonica figures prominently in this recording. We basically have a trio: Willie, Trigger, and Mickey. I had no idea Beth Nielson Chapman wrote “Nothing I Can Do About it Now.” This may be the best song on the album and one of his best versions of this song. Ditto for “Help Me Make it Through the Night.” This “Bloody Mary Morning” runs over 5 minutes and veers into an Allman Brothers kind of jam session toward the end. Then Willie slows “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain” way down. Always playing with time and tempo. This “Always on Your Mind” ranks up with the best as well. I’m reminded of Jerry Garcia’s guitar work and vocal pacing on some of Willie’s tunes. His voice surprisingly soars on this one, even at 74. “Still is Still Moving to Me” still hasn’t grown on me, though I like it lyrically and philosophically. Ending with “Milk Cow Blues” is an adventurous choice. Willie seems to be sowing his wild oats on this one. He starts out slowly with this straightforward blues piece, but then he veers off into jam band land. Harmonica, piano, and guitar riffing all over the place. Willie’s vocals are as playful as I have ever heard them. Maybe Shelby Lynne inspired him, or maybe it was the hometown crowd in Austin, but Willie was feeling it. There are some surprising vocal flourishes I have not heard before in almost 60 albums thus far this year.
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