Thursday, April 1, 2010

Willie and Family Live (1978) [Disc 1]

This live album opens with Willie’s standard set list:

Whiskey River
Stay A Little Longer
Funny/Crazy/Night Life medley

I prefer the versions on the 1974 Texas Opry House concert, but these are solid. Mickey’s harmonica is in rare form. This version of “If You’ve Got the Money I’ve Got the Time” is so different from the one I’m used to that I find it intriguing. It’s faster and Willie takes some pleasing liberties with the phrasings. “I Can Get Off on You” is better on Willie’s studio album with Waylon Jennings, but it is nice to have a live version. This may be my favorite version of “If You Could Touch Her at All,” and the 14:26 “Red Headed Stranger Medley” is worth the price of the two-disc set. I haven’t heard this live anywhere else. For that track alone, this makes my untenable top ten. These versions of “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys” and “Good Hearted Woman” don’t match the versions with Waylon, but it’s still nice to have these for comparison purposes. Willie slows down “Mamas” and adds a little funk to it. Mickey has fun with the extra spaces this opens up. The photos of the family band included with the liner notes are also worth owning. This disc ends with the blazing instrumental piece “Under the Double Eagle,” which is only the second version I have thus far. The other appears as an outtake on the Complete Atlantic Recordings three-disc set. There’s a little hillbilly scat singing at the end. I think it goes without saying that every Willie fan should own this one.

1 comment:

  1. I absolutely agree with every single thing you said! I wish I had this on vinyl...
    Happy Easter!
    -G.

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