Someone just loaned me Robert Earl Keen’s “Live Dinner 2” and, oh my Lord, I am just loving it. Never heard of the guy, but he is great. If you like country/rockabilly you I cannot recommend this highly enough.
Anybody else heard of him? Anybody else a big fan? If so, what CDs do you recommend? I want to buy two or three and this live one will definitely be one, but I’d like suggestions on the other one or two. Also – anyone else you really like/would recommend in the same vein? I’m always looking for more music, and this is exactly my speed.
I’m a Texas Aggie (WHOOOP!), so I’m pretty much required to be a Robert Earl Keen fan. But I would be anyway. He’s great and I like listening to any of his albums, but he is best appreciated live, whether in smaller venues where you can really get into the music or in large venues where it’s a huge drunken sing-along. And I like his live recordings best, except maybe for some of the slower songs.
When I was a freshman at Texas A&M and working with a couple of dozen other guys building Bonfire late one night (think “big field with logs all over the place and some lights and PA speakers on poles”) REK showed up and sang “Copenhagen” to us over the PA system. It was great!
Texas has produced an amazing amount of songwriters, from Bob Wills (Kosse) to Willie Nelson (Fort Worth) through Buddy Holly (Lubbock) to Doug Sahm (San Antonio) to Joe Ely (Amarillo) to Townes Van Zandt (Fort Worth) to Robert Earl Keen (Houston) to Ray Wylie Hubbard (moved from Soper, OK to Dallas as a kid) to Guy Clark (Monahans) to Lyle Lovett (Klein, a Houston suburb named after his great-grandfather, Adam Klein) to Steven Fromholz (Temple) to Tish Hinojosa (San Antonio) to Patti Griffith (Austin) etc.
I occasionally sit in for a guy who does a two hour “Singer-Songwriter on Sunday” show at the local FM station. Last week, in honor of the late Dave Carter, I did the whole two hours of nothing but Texas-born singer-songwriters and I barely scratched the surface. There’s a reason “Austin City Limits” spent so many years on the air.
I’ve been a big fan of REK for a while, but I’m getting the feeling lately that he’s in a rut. He seems to just write the same five songs over and over. They’re five terrific songs, but there’s not much reason to buy a new album if you have an old one.
I’m a fan. He is best appreciated live. Luckily, he comes to my general area once or twice a year and we go see him. He generally plays somewhere small and will hang out to chat and autograph stuff. I have 2 autographed CD’s and a tour poster. I told him he could come out to “The Ranch” and ride motorcycles and drink beer, and he said he would look us up next time he’s out. (yeah, sure!) At least he tried to sound sincere!
If you like him, try Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett, Todd Snider, Cheri Knight, The Jayhawks, Ryan Adams, Wilco, Son Volt and all them other Texas fellers and gals already mentioned above.
I’m a big REK fan, and have seen him live on a number of occasions.
No. 2 Live Dinner is my favorite recording by him, and it makes me wish he would get back together with Mr. Duckworth (his fiddle player) (I think they are having some sort of spat, and he has refused to replace him in the band.)
The Road Goes on Forever is just not the same on a steel guitar.
I’m woefully unacquainted with REK, although considering my passion for other Texas music* you’d think I’d know more of him. I have heard two songs performed by him (“Lousiana Song” and “Songs About Texas”) and a Jack Ingram cover of “The Road Goes On Forever.”
*My playlist is very heavy on the Charlie Robison and Jack Ingram, with also some Bruce Robison, Pat Green, and Cory Morrow.
Big fan. I would suggest staying away from “Picnic.” (I think that’s the title - the cover shows a car ablaze invoking his story abount his first trip to Willie’s 4th of July celebration) To me, Picnic sounds too Nashville, not very Texas. I own it, but honestly was able to only listen to it once.
In the newer stuff, I like “Walking Distance.” It has a Christmas song that I think is pretty funny, not as good as Merry Christmas From the Family, but mentions some of the same characters.
gatopescado and Caprese, while Jerry Jeff is often linked with the “Outlaw” movement (Willie, Waylon, David Allen Coe, etc.) and the Texas singer/songwriters, what really cracks me up is that he was born in far upstate New York. As a Rochester native transplanted to Texas, I really get a smile out of that. Here’s the obligatory cite for JJW’s birthplace.
(yeah, sure!) At least he tried to sound sincere!