It was back in the late 90’s that I first heard Mr. Keen. Many remember their first kiss, car, job or some other monumental situation. And sure, my first kiss with a girl that already had a year old kid was nice, (by the way, the kids paternal grandmother was a grandma at age 30, and people say we take it slow in rural America) and my ’79 Olds Cutlass has lots of memories, (including my first kiss, which I believe that I’ve discussed before) and farming for my grandpa was cool, (even though it had nothing to do with cars and teenage kisses or pregnancies) but I will never forget that day back in ’98 when I first heard Robert Earl. He was on the John Boy and Billy show, which is a nationally syndicated morning show out of Charlotte, NC. (I assume these are the guys referenced in What I Really Mean, which is played out wonderfully in this live CD) They had REK on and he sang a few songs and talked with them for a while. I went to Dodge (that’s what we call Dodge City out in western KS, Dodge) and bought my first REK cassette (Picnic) from the local Hastings. The next week, I went to Dodge yet again to get the Walking Distance cassette. Yes, I bought cassettes, only because you couldn’t buy any of his stuff on 8-track. And I’ve been an addict ever since. I’ve been to his shows in two different time zones and I own a CD, and in some cases a cassette, of everything he’s put out, except for a “greatest hits” that was from his first three releases. I’m not only a fan of REK but also the whole REK band, Rich, Bill, Tom, Marty and before them Bryan. I’m a fan of all of them. You could say I’m a big fan, so when someone comes and says something bad about him, I’ll defend him. I read a review a little while ago (only to keep up on the competition mind you) that spoke badly of REK and yet another live album. Granted, I said some bad things in a previous review about live albums, but that was only because a guy was making an idiot of himself while Junior Brown was playing. Anyway, this reviewer was mad because he thought that REK should be working on a new studio album instead of a live album with another version of The Road Goes On Forever and Merry Christmas from the Family.
My response to this nincompoop, yes, I said nincompoop, is that if he listens closely, each version of The Road is a little different than other versions. If he were such a great reviewer, he would note that. By the way, this version goes on for over 10 minutes. And how could you talk bad about Merry Christmas From the Family. After all, it’s a Christmas song, dangit. And judging by the crowd’s reaction to the song, none of them minded. The roar from the crowd reminds me of the stories I’ve read from when Hank first appeared at the Ryman and had six; count ‘em, six encores. Another point that is lost on this guy is that there are six; count ‘em, six songs from his last two releases on this live CD. (I only need four more points to have six; count ‘em, six points to refute his review. Somehow I’m stuck on six today) Along with these six or some of my personal favorites, Shades of Gray, Corpus Christi Bay, Gringo Honeymoon, Feelin’ Good Again and I’m Coming Home, among others. The Ryman is a magical place, and that magic transferred it self onto the recording of this CD. It’s good to see Shades of Gray make it onto this recording. A very underrated song of his that deserves more credit. Best of the “new” songs are Furnace Fan and Broken End of Love, both of which are shooting up the Heath Kirk best of REK charts. Furnace Fan is at #6 with a bullet. And any CD with Feelin’ Good Again will always be good. I dare you to listen to that song while depressed and still be depressed after the song is done.
So, what have we learned today:
- My on going vendetta against other reviewers continues
- John Boy and Billy got me started on my REK love affair
- Six, is the number of the day
- And this live CD rocks
I’ll give this CD 5 out of 6 first kisses. (See, I told you I was stuck on the number 6)