„Waylon Live“

(RCA, 1976)

This has got to be the best Live-Country-Album from the Seventies there is (I am always careful with superlatives.) and you might even have no idea who Waylon Jennings is. So I'm gonna tell you some about the man beforehand: Waylon Jennings is a Country-legend, he is still alive, though he tried to destroy himself as good as he could. He was one of the original Highwayman (along with other living legends such as Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson) but he has been making music since the late Fifties. He made his first steps in the music business at the side of Buddy Holly, whom he adored. Some day he gave up his seat in a little plane to Buddy Holly's sax-player Big Bopper - and as you should know, that plane crashed killing everyone inside. So, Waylon made his own way and what he became can only be described in one word: mighty. He developed his own style of bluesy-honkytonk-guitar-playing, which he referred to as "chicken-pickin'" and he never adhered to any boundaries, even in a genre as conservative and backwards as Country-music. So he played gospel-songs along with drunken-cowboy-songs and blues-songs and lonely-tunes. All in his own impeccable style. And he grew to be a big man. As I said, mighty.

Jennings also had some downbeats. Heroin-addiction and pill-boppin' alternated with stints in prison. As any other Country-legend, he record awful albums in the late eighties / early nineties, and he even turned a born-again-christian at some time. You can read all that in his fantastic auto-biography, named "Waylon", a wild ride through his life, music business and the ups and downs in country music. A big ride with a lot to see, hear and learn.

In 1974 he recorded two live-concerts in Texas, that was to become this document of the man at his peak. Originally planned to be a double-album, RCA cut it to just 11 songs on a regular Lp. (In 1999 Buddha-Records put together the original masters and released all 20 songs on a fabulous CD, which I'd advise you to get. I am referring to this release here.) Moreover, it took untill December of 1976 before the record came out, but it spent six weeks atop Billboard's Country Album charts in 1977. Actually, it should have come as no surprise. Texas was a homegame for Jennings, the audience went wild - as Texans are supposed to - and Jennings deals them one hit after another. As soon as he starts of the concert with the old Jimmie Rodgers-favorite (of 1927) "T for texas" he had the audience on his side. And you can hear his fun playing, when he lays down tunes like "me and Paul" by Willie Nelson or his then-number-one-hit "Ramblin' Man".

The first peak is his tribute to one of the most legendary musicians in the early days of country-music: Bob Wills - the king of Western swing. Though Jennings himself never played anything close to Western swing, he respected the legacy of the man, and, moreover, the song plays with Texan patriotism - with lyrics like "makes me proud to be from Texas / where Bob Wills is still the king" and "you can't live in Texas / unless you got a lot of soul". The song itself doesn't seem so spectacular, but I tell you something, whenever I hear that song, I can't help myself but swing along to that special country-beat.

For the whole setlist Jennings has no inhibitions to pay tribute to his heroes, his grandfathers and - maybe most important - his friends. He covers Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson with "Lovin' her was easier (than anything I'll ever do again)" and "Me and Bobby McGee" (yes, that was written by Kris Kristofferson not Janis Joplin, you dickhead). He plays old standards like "Hous of the rising sun" or "Never been to spain". He brings silence and emotional awe to the whole room with slow and sad tunes like "Freedom to stay" and "Rainy Day Women". Everything you could love about Country-Music is in here. (Which of course means, everything YOU might hate about Country-music). Though there are six people in the band, the style stays pure, simplistic and true. Everysong features a driving beat, that makes you imagine cruising down long-winded roads in the wilderness of the South.

Just look at the cover, all the pictures feature Wylon Jennings taken from low loking up - as I told you, the impression is: mighty. Waylon is a big man, he still is. When he plays, he ain't just singing a song, he is making it his own and, even though his style seems to be somewhat reduced and not overtly emotional at the beginning, he purs a lot of soul into them. He commands the songs and he does it with a lot of power. He is the big man with strong arms and a big heart, as you see, he is the epitome of the Country-Man. When he talks, he speaks true, and when he acts, he acts as a real man. Of course, the Texans ate it up on the spot. And you, if you aren't digging into your books about post-feminist-liberalism or taking your exams in political-correctness-theory right now, you might eat it up as well. Because strong, real feelings compared with strong, real music cannot be ignored, not even if you are trying hard. Simple or not, even easily foreseeable but a big document about life and love nevertheless. And lots of fun, too.

So this is my tip for the day: put away all your electronica-12"es for a moment and get back to real life for a moment. And do it with this monument of American music. Get some fun and feelings back into your lives, 'cause this record has it all: fun, sadness, joy, unforgettable tunes and truthfulness.

P.S.: I can only think of one Live-Country-Record that might come close to this: Johnny Cash's "Live at San Quentin" but that has completely different prerequesites.