Waylon Jennings & The Waylors - Texas - Sept, 1974 - three

nites of live recording - FIFTY trax......

RCA released a single LP with 11 of 'em in '76

On May 20th - RCA Heritage gave us what we've been waiting for all these years. The original 20 trax that Waylon envisioned for his double LP....PLUS 22 previously unreleased trax.

This is Waylon doin what he did best - FORTY-TWO trax on 2 CD's.

These recordings capture Waylon in the beginning of what would become his prime - and was he on!

You'll hear new releases of the day such as Honky Tonk Heroes, Amanda, and This Time mixed with some of his re-worked material from his early days with RCA (Stop The World & Let Me Off; Anita You're Dreaming) - along with some old standards for good measure (Me n Bobby McGee; Big Ball in Cowtown; House of the Rising Sun). Each and every one of these 42 trax.......regardless of the songwriter or original artist.....fully "Waylon-ized" in a way only he could achieve.

It's all here, everything we came to love about Waylon: his voice.....his humor.....that unmistakable TELECASTER!!.....his Waylors, who at the time consisted of The Great Ralph Mooney on steel (the foot that made Haggard famous); Richie Albright and his famous kick drum; Duke Goff on bass; Billy Ray Reynolds on guitar; Larry Whitmore on 12 string and Roger Crabtree on harmonica.

The only negative aspect of this collection is the 28 1/2 years it has taken to get it completely from the can onto the shelves.

The liner notes and ne'er before seen pix alone are well worth the price of admission.

Usually, performances this powerful aren't captured on record. This time, they were.

From the liner notes by Rich KIENZLE, May 2003:

"The studio was one type of canvas for Waylon; the stage was entirely different, and the crowds seemed to pump him up every time, even near the end. On January 5th & 6th, 2000 -- two years before shaking his mortal coil -- he recorded another live album at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium with guest shots by Jessi, Montgomery Gentry, Travis Tritt and John Anderson. Energized by his audience, he gave a performance so spirited and fiery that it belied his failing health.

This collection incorporates the original WAYLON LIVE LP plus 22 additional tunes from the tapes of those three electrifying nights. Hearing him in his prime, ripping, rocking and roaring nonstop, you might conclude that had Waylon never recorded another note, these incendiary, visceral performances would remain a monument to the genius at the essence of the man himself: pure, unadorned and audacious.

Not to mention thoroughly badassed."

Get yours today then help spread the word. Together we can give Waylon one more Gold record.

Waylon Jennings

This album showcases each instrument so well. The steel guitar solos will give you chills. The songs range from rockin' country to slower and mellow songs which are soothing to the ear. If you want to see why Waylon Jennings is a legend, listen to this CD and you will find out very quickly.

I sorta lost track of Waylon Jennings about 15 years ago. Something jogged my memory and I thought just for old times sakes I'd buy this CD. Wow! Now I remember why I liked him back in the 1970s. Waylon rocks. This is gritty, hard-charging music by a lonesome, onry, and mean guitar picker who looks as tough as he sounds. The liner notes say this album has a snarling sound and so it does: pedal steel and harmonica back up heavy guitar work. Nobody ever said that Waylon had a pretty voice. He is a little reminiscent of Johnny Cash as a singer: deep and profound, a little off key, and he has trouble saying words fast enough to keep up with the music. He has a walking beat that's a little like Cash too. But, Waylon is noisier and harder rocking than Cash. He sings a lot of the same songs as his buddy, Willie Nelson, but Willie is acoustic and Waylon is electric. Anyway this is good country, or country rock, or outlaw country, whatever you want to call it. There's no one song on this CD that stands out -- because they're all good. The only think I wish is that he would have included a couple of cowboy tunes: Mamas, Dont Let your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys and My Heroes have always been Cowboys. Oh, well. Next album. All in all, this is about 100 times better that that insipid stuff they call Country these days.

I first saw Waylon perform live in 73, a year before this was recorded. This was in a high school gymnasium in Vernal Utah. He was about an hour and a half late and the audience was in a very non receptive mood by the time he arrived. His bus had encountered heavy snow traveling from Denver. At the beginning of the performance the audience was very cool. We were sitting in the first row and my daughter looked up at him and said " mommy, where's Waylon?" This got a big smile from him. From that moment, it seemed he was singing especially for us. He put on a very incredible performance. The audence soon forgave his late arrival. At the time, I wasn't very familiar with his music but from that evening's performance, I became a life long fan. I own more Waylon albums that any other performers. I also saw Waylon's Outlaw's tour and Are You Ready For The Country tours. they were very good , but none could compare to the first performance. This live collection captures much of that early magic and includes many more great songs than the original release. If you aren't a Waylon fan, get this one, you soon will be. Already a fan? This is a MUST !

Waylon at his best!!! Lots of energy lacking in his studio recordings. Country rock, or outlaw music as it was called in 1976, doesn't get any better than this! This tells it all. HIGHLY recommend.