Home
Lord of the Highway
Lord of the Highway in Bloomington, MN
Current price: $12.99
Loading Inventory...
Size: OS
Lord of the Highway
,
Joe Ely
's sixth studio album, is something of a return to form for him, in both qualitative and stylistic senses.
Ely
released five albums (four studio sets and the concert recording
Live Shots
) on major label
MCA Records
between 1977 and 1981, gradually modifying his style from country to rock. 1984's
Hi-Res
took the transition a step further, as
returned to record stores after a three-year break with an album on which synthesizers played a major part, but fans and critics had mixed reactions.
then parted ways with
MCA
, and
, another three years on, finds him with the independent
HighTone Records
label.
Mitch Watkins
, who played those synthesizers on
, is still around on keyboards, along with an otherwise all-new backup band (
Davis McLarty
on drums;
Jimmy Pettit
on bass;
David Grissom
on guitar;
Bobby Keys
on saxophone). But the roots rock sound of
is much closer to 1981's
Musta Notta Gotta Lotta
than to
. Taking more time to write,
makes several excellent additions to his songbook, starting with the shaggy dog Western saga
"Me and Billy the Kid"
and including
"Are You Listenin' Lucky?"
The lengthy
"Letter to L.A."
is musically reminiscent of
the Rolling Stones
'
"You Can't Always Get What You Want,"
a connection accentuated by the presence of
Keys
, a longtime
Stones
sideman. The concluding
"Silver City"
seems to be an allegorical cautionary tale about what happens to the dreams of an idealistic young man when he encounters the outside world. As on earlier
albums,
Butch Hancock
provides a couple of strong compositions, the title song, and
"Row of Dominoes."
In 1981,
seemed to be on the verge of stardom. He doesn't anymore, but
suggests he will still be out on the road playing his powerful music for some time to come. At a transitional time in the record business,
was released as a ten-track album on LP and cassette, but in order to stimulate sales of the CD format, that version came out simultaneously with an eleventh bonus track,
"Screaming Blue Jillions,"
a rock & roll song set to the
Bo Diddley
beat and the sort of enjoyable minor number that used to be reserved for the B-sides of singles. ~ William Ruhlmann
,
Joe Ely
's sixth studio album, is something of a return to form for him, in both qualitative and stylistic senses.
Ely
released five albums (four studio sets and the concert recording
Live Shots
) on major label
MCA Records
between 1977 and 1981, gradually modifying his style from country to rock. 1984's
Hi-Res
took the transition a step further, as
returned to record stores after a three-year break with an album on which synthesizers played a major part, but fans and critics had mixed reactions.
then parted ways with
MCA
, and
, another three years on, finds him with the independent
HighTone Records
label.
Mitch Watkins
, who played those synthesizers on
, is still around on keyboards, along with an otherwise all-new backup band (
Davis McLarty
on drums;
Jimmy Pettit
on bass;
David Grissom
on guitar;
Bobby Keys
on saxophone). But the roots rock sound of
is much closer to 1981's
Musta Notta Gotta Lotta
than to
. Taking more time to write,
makes several excellent additions to his songbook, starting with the shaggy dog Western saga
"Me and Billy the Kid"
and including
"Are You Listenin' Lucky?"
The lengthy
"Letter to L.A."
is musically reminiscent of
the Rolling Stones
'
"You Can't Always Get What You Want,"
a connection accentuated by the presence of
Keys
, a longtime
Stones
sideman. The concluding
"Silver City"
seems to be an allegorical cautionary tale about what happens to the dreams of an idealistic young man when he encounters the outside world. As on earlier
albums,
Butch Hancock
provides a couple of strong compositions, the title song, and
"Row of Dominoes."
In 1981,
seemed to be on the verge of stardom. He doesn't anymore, but
suggests he will still be out on the road playing his powerful music for some time to come. At a transitional time in the record business,
was released as a ten-track album on LP and cassette, but in order to stimulate sales of the CD format, that version came out simultaneously with an eleventh bonus track,
"Screaming Blue Jillions,"
a rock & roll song set to the
Bo Diddley
beat and the sort of enjoyable minor number that used to be reserved for the B-sides of singles. ~ William Ruhlmann
Shop Similar Products
