Audio CD review:
Joe Ely - No Bad Talk or Loud Talk 1977-'81

Joe Ely - No Bad Talk or Loud Talk 1977-'81

Band: Joe Ely Title: No Bad Talk or Loud Talk 1977-'81 Rating: Release Date: 25 April, 1995 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Honky Tonk Masquerade 2: If You Were A Bluebird 3: Dallas 4: Fingernails 5: Boxcars 6: Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown 7: I Had My Hopes Up High 8: Fools Fall In Love 9: Treat Me Like A Saturday Night 10: Maria 11: Down On The Drag 12: Hard Livin' 13: Musta Notta Gotta Lotta 14: Suckin' A Big Bottle Of Gin 15: Johnny's Blues 16: She Never Spoke Spanish To Me 17: Because Of The Wind 18: West Texas Waltz

Customer Review Classic Joe Ely For nearly a quarter century Joe Ely has created an impressive catalog of some of the best music never heard on country radio. Leave it to the English to rescue one of America's great voices. Hailing from Texas, Ely recorded his first album in 1972 as part of the Flatlanders with felow Texans Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Starting with his self-titled debut in 1977, Ely would record four terrific albums for MCA, which unfortunately have all gone out of print. Now, thanks to Edsel, with this CD and the companion Time For Travelin', you get (almost) all four albums on two CDs. [Four tracks are inexplicably left off. ] All four albums featured Ely on guitar and vocals, Ponty Bone on accordian, Jesse Taylor on lead guitar, and Lloyd Maines on steel guitar. [Note: Taylor and Maines are back on board for Ely's latest Live At Antone's. ] Also, all but one song ("Hard Livin') are written by Ely, Gilmore or Hancock. Ely composed the lovely "Honky Tonk Masquerade," the rockin' "Johnny's Blues" as well as the Jerry Lee Lewis-inspired "Fingernails. " Gilmore provides the gentle "Treat Me Like a Saturday Night" and the lovely "Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown. " Hancock can be delicate on numbers like "If You Were a Bluebird" and then turn around and offer the hilarious "West Texas Waltz. " This album has it all: terrific songwriting, amazing vocals, and outstanding musicianship. Why Ely never became a huge country star is a mystery. Get this CD and find out what country music radio missed out on. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. . You can see a complete list of all Joe Ely discography, or go back to the Joe Ely tabs