At the peak of his popularity in the late '60s and early '70s,
Capitol
released way too many albums from
Buck Owens
: in the liner notes to
Sundazed
's 2007 reissue of
Live in Scandinavia
,
Rich Kienzle
points out that the label released a staggering nine albums in the 15-month span from December 1969 to February 1971. That's an avalanche of albums that included 1969's
Buck Owens in London
-- add to that two live LPs issued between 1966 (
Carnegie Hall Concert
) and 1967 (
In Japan!
) and it's little wonder why
did not release
in America during 1970, holding it only for Norway, but even there it got a limited release, somewhere in the province of a couple thousand copies. As such,
is the rarest of all official
albums, with
's 2007 release being the first wide circulation of the music ever, and it's a welcome reissue even if it isn't a monumental one. Unlike those three aforementioned records, this doesn't strictly feature
Buck
on his own; instead, it showcases his entire touring revue, dubbed
the Capitol Caravan
and featuring an opening set from
Don Rich
and
the Buckaroos
, followed by a pair of songs each by
Buddy Alan Owens
the Hagers
before
came in for his set, with the entire Caravan singing the closing pair
"Tall Dark Stranger"
"Johnny B. Goode."
This, more than any of his other live albums, gives a sense of what it must have been like to see a full
concert back then, as the set runs rapidly through the revolving musicians. That's not the only way that
reflects its time: there are no less than two songs from
the Band
here, as
tears through
"Up on Cripple Creek"
and does a good
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,"
along with a cover of
Merle Haggard
's recent hit
"Okie from Muskogee."
All this pegs
to its year, but its time capsule nature is why the album is valuable among the plethora of live
LPs: it plays like an average night on the road, which is almost as interesting as a barnburner like
Carnegie Hall
. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine