Maybe It's Just Me
Jeff J | Dripping Springs, TX United States | 11/12/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Jack Ingram & the Beat-Up Ford Band hit on all cylinders on this live album recorded at Ft. Worth's legendary Billy Bob's, earlier this year. This is a great collection of many of Jack's concert favorites which draws from 7 of his previous cds and also includes the live favorite "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way"? . My personal favorites include:"Are You Sure Hank...?", "I Won't Go With Her" and "Keep On Keeping On". My only gripe about the song selection is the inclusion of "Flutter". Does the world really need another version of a song that has already been recorded by Jack on at least 3 other occasions?
So...why only 4 stars instead of 5? I've only had the cd for a couple of days but something has been bugging me about the sound of the disc. I have yet to put my finger on what it is, but I have a couple of ideas. One, being the possibility of a heavy handed production, evident by editing of Jack's language in a couple of places and the complete removal of Jack's "late night at Denny's / State of modern country music rant, during "Hank...". Also to me the band sounds a bit restrained on several of the songs...this could be either due to the band playing to the crowd/room or again a poor producer. I am an 8 year veteran fan and have seen the band countless times all over Texas and I have seen the them with the same line-up as recently as 3 weeks ago, so I am pretty familiar with their sound and something just don't sound right. But maybe it's just me and my hypercritical ear.
All in all...this is a decent cd and should complement Jack's upcoming "Live at Gruene Hall" nicely, since according to his website there should be little to no song duplication, between the two. Go out and buy this cd and go see Jack when he comes to your town. And don't forget...Keep On Keeping On!!"