The Offenders Re-Union: Can’t Get the Hell Out of Texas (1995)

Here’s another Bear Family re-issue gem.  One of Willie’s earliest and briefest road band configurations, The Offenders (later called “The Radio Men”), consisted of Jimmy Day (steel), Johnny Bush (vocals/drums), David Zettner (bass), and Willie (guitar/vocals).  This group, along with Floyd Domino (piano) and Johnny Gimble (fiddle), also appears on the 1995 recording “Me and the Drummer” (also released as “Tales Out of Luck”).  I reviewed that album on a previous blog, and I think it is far superior to this album, but I’m not sure why.  Same group, same year.  Maybe it’s the mix of songs.  Perhaps it is because “Me and the Drummer” consists of all Willie-penned originals, and “Can’t Get the Hell Out of Texas” has a number of songs written and sung by other folks.

In any case, this one opens with the title song (written by John Hadley), which contains this classic line: “In Texas we raise hell just like it was a crop…  It started with the Alamo, and it ain’t ever gonna stop….You can’t get the hell out of Texas, ‘cause it’s the hell-raisin’ center of the earth.”  Johnny Bush takes the lead vocal duties.  I think the story behind this album is that Jimmy Day was trying to record his own album at Pedernales, and Willie wandered in and saw that all the former Offender band members were there, so he decided to do an Offender’s Reunion record.  This purely instrumental version of Conway Twitty’s “Linda on My Mind” showcases Jimmy Day’s weeping steel.  Willie takes the lead vocals for his own “I’m So Ashamed” (track 3), which is as good as anything he has recorded and worth the price of this CD.  Upon closer examination, this appears to be the same version of the song that appears on “Me and the Drummer.”  Hmmm.  Willie has only recorded this song a few times: an un-released outtake on “The Complete Atlantic Recordings” and a duet version with Ray Price on “Run That By Me One More Time.”  It’s one of Willie’s best songs, and he should play it more often.  “Daybreak” (track 4), an upbeat Jimmy Day tune, features Day’s steel, Willie’s Trigger, and Gimble’s fiddle.  Johnny Bush sings Conway Twitty’s “Walk Me to the Door” (track 5).  “Sleepwalk” (track 6) features some of Day’s most eloquent work on steel.  The steel seems to be meowing the lead vocals.  Johnny Bush sings Willie’s “Are You Sure This is Where You Want to Be” (track 7).  Jimmy Day’s steel sings Willie’s “She’s Not For You” (track 8), a song made for the steel guitar.  Willie’s guitar work stands out more prominently on this track as well.  Jimmy Day appears to be singing his own “I Know I Love You” (track 9), though Johnny Bush is credited with vocals in the liner notes.  The melancholy “There She Goes” (track 10) and the up-tempo Hank Williams’ tune “Hey Good Lookin’” (track 11) are purely instrumental numbers featuring guitar, steel, and piano.  The only other track with Willie on vocals, “Rainy Day Blues” (track 12), appears to be the same version that appears on “Me and the Drummer.”  In short, the best two tracks on this album are the ones with Willie on vocals, and those can be found on “Me and the Drummer,” so most listeners will want to skip this album and just pick up a copy of “Me and the Drummer.”