Audio CD review:
Jr. Robert Earl Keen - Live at the Ryman

Jr. Robert Earl Keen - Live at the Ryman

Band: Jr. Robert Earl Keen Title: Live at the Ryman Rating: Release Date: 11 July, 2006 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: FEELIN' GOOD AGAIN 2: GRINGO HONEYMOON 3: WHAT I REALLY MEAN 4: SHADES OF GRAY 5: AMARILLO HIGHWAY 6: MERRY CHRISTMAS 7: CORPUS CHRISTI BAY 8: FURNACE FAN 9: BROKEN END OF LOVE 10: LONG CHAIN 11: TRAIN TREK 12: I'M COMIN' HOME 13: THE ROAD GOES ON FOREVER 14: FARM FRESH ONIONS

Customer Reviews good stuff Guess that other reviewer has a different idea of what songs are good - I really like ALL the songs in this set, even the loud version of FFO. I've been blasting this CD in my car for the past couple of weeks and enjoying it immensely. In fact I actually like this version of Merry Christmas more than any other, and the Corpus Christi Bay rendition is interesting too. The sound is fine. I don't care that it doesn't have much chatter. There are also 4 songs from What I Really Mean that I haven't seen on a live album before. Taken on its own merits it's a fine album, don't know what the 1 star reviewers are thinking. . Good band, lame songs, strained vocals I know most of his songs and have seen him live a number of times. I am an ardent, longtime REK fan. I consider him a genuine talent and one of my favorite musicians. Unfortunately, this album failed to meet expectations. While the band is in customarily crisp form here, with Rich Brotherton (guitar)and Marty Muse (pedal steel) consistently showcasing their ample talents, the set suffers from the inclusion of too many medicore songs--Train Trek, Farm Fresh Onions, Furnace Fan--and from Robert Earl's grating over-the-top vocals. It seems like he's trying way too hard, nervously aware that he's playing in one of country music's hallowed halls. His self-indulgent caterwauling and monotonous talk-singing all but ruin even the best songs, most notably Shades of Gray. Also, as alluded to by a previous reviewer, the inclusion of yet another version of The Road Goes On Forever is unnecessary. I know it is his signature song but too much of anything is too much. (The same might be said of Merry Christmas from the Family. He's played that thing to death. ) To sum up, Live at the Ryman is a disappointing effort from an artist who could offer much, better. I hope he will. I CANNOT GET ENOUGH! " I'm so thankful that they released this album because I don't think REK has yet explored the depths of that famous song. I am a huge REK fan, but boy, let me tell ya, I can't get enough of "Road Goes On Forever. I just hope they hurry up and come out with another album where he plays "Road Goes On Forever" because I don't think he's quite mastered the art of screaming each lyric tonelessly. After all, loud is good because it makes ol' REK seem like a hard-partying frat boy. Also, the guitar solo in this version doesn't quite hit the fifty-minute mark. Also, he doesn't have quite enough different instruments coming in and out playing the same repetitive themes during the solo segment. I don't think Keen can do this song justice until he's included an ancient four-stringed instrument with an unnpronounceable name that was made by an extinct race of cannibals from an island in the South Pacific during the early Neolithic period. But hard-core fans like me will have to settle for this rendition. At least until those restraining orders in Bandera County expire and we can go back to squatting below Keen's bathroom window and waiting eagerly to hear his latest fart, which, if put on an album, we will gladly assign 5 stars and lots of capital letters!. . You can see a complete list of all Jr. Robert Earl Keen discography, or go back to the Jr. Robert Earl Keen tabs