Search - Buck Owens :: On the Bandstand

+1/2 -- Super collection of early Owens honky-tonk

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 10/17/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Despite the title and cover photo, this isn't a live album. Instead, the title suggests the collection of songs as representative of Owens' stage show circa 1962-63. The song list combines several Owens originals (both solo and co-writes), along with some contemporary hits of others, and a few more adventurously picked covers. It's a rousing set, filled with hot fiddle and weepy steel playing, and Owens brilliant voice front-and-center. By the time this album was released, the band was already climbing to chart fame with "Act Naturally," but at the time of recording, they were on the verge, just about to break into the clear.Though Don Rich was still heavily focussed on playing fiddle, his electric leads shows off the sting that would spearhead the Bakersfield Sound. Similarly, Owens doubles his own vocals on a few tracks, but he and Rich spark up their remarkable harmonies on several others. Ralph Mooney's steel (especially on "I Can't Stop (My Lovin' You)") and Rich's fiddle (especially the winding line on the Owens/Red Simpson penned "King of Fools") are like a twangy call-to-arms against the smooth sounds then emanating from Nashville. The band finds plenty of space for their musical talents, including an instrumental arrangement of the Ray Price ballad, "Release Me," with superb, flowing interplay between Jay McDonald's steel and Rich's fiddle. Rich gets an even brighter spotlight for his tone and technique on a cover of "Orange Blossom Special," and takes a solo vocal spin on Howard Harlan's "Sally Was a Good Old Girl." Owens and Rich work their signature harmonies on several tunes, including Mel Tillis' "Saw Mill," Leadbelly's "Cotton Fields," and John D. Loudermilk's "Diggy Liggy Lo."Wanda Jackson's honky-tonk tune, "Kickin' Our Hearts Around" (written expressly for Owens, and sung in his finest drawl), was the only hit single originally included on this album. The rest of the album's tracks, generally not over-anthologized, presents new ground for many Owens enthusiasts. Varese's reissue adds both sides an Owens/Rose Maddox single as a bonus, the hit version of "Sweethearts in Heaven" (an earlier version, sung by Owens and Rich, is included as an original album track) and its flip, "We're the Talk of the Town.""

You can't pick very much cotton.

Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 08/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album marked the beginning of a pattern that would characterize most of Buck's LPs throughout his peak years of sixties' stardom. Each album would feature several Buck solo performances mixed with numbers showcasing the rest of his band, vocally and instrumentally. Only one of Buck's hit singles was on the album: "Kickin' Our Hearts Around", a song Wanda Jackson had written specifically for him. Over half of the album features cover versions of other artists' material. Buck sings lead on seven songs, with Don Rich singing two leads, Kenny Pierce singing one lead, and two instrumentals. The CD adds two bonus duets between Buck and Rose Maddox. This is a solid CD that should appeal to Buck's fans."