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Caught In The Webb: Tribute To Webb Pierce

Dwight Yoakam - Caught In The Webb: Tribute To Webb Pierce Audio CD

A fair review of the Dwight Yoakam "Caught In The Webb: Tribute To Webb Pierce" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Dwight Yoakam reviews here, or go back to the Dwight Yoakam tabs.

Band: Dwight Yoakam
Title: Caught In The Webb: Tribute To Webb Pierce
Rating:

Release Date: 2002-01-08
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: In The Jailhouse Now - Dale Watson & The Jordanaires 2: Slowly - Mandy Barnett 3: I'm Tired - Charley Pride 4: I Ain't Never - Rosie Flores & The Jordanaires 5: Yes I Know Why - George Jones 6: If You Were Me - Dwight Yoakam 7: Wondering - Emmylou Harris 8: Tupelo County Jail - Robbie Fulks & Joy Lynn White 9: Back Street Affair - Allison Moorer 10: Even Tho' - Matt King 11: More And More - Crystal Gayle 12: I'm Walking The Dog - The Del McCoury Band 13: that Heart Belongs To Me - Lionel Cartwright 14: Honky Tonk Song - Guy Clark & The Jordanaires 15: Love Love Love - Gail Davies 16: That's Me Without You - Willie Nelson 17: There Stands The Glass - BR549 18: I Don't Care - Billy Walker & The Carol Lee Singers 19: Why Baby Why - Kevin Welch & Deborah Pierce 20: It's Been So Long - Trent Summar 21: No Love Have I - Pam Tillis & The Jordanaires

Webb Pierce...
I would've given him "Backstreet Affair" or "It's Been So Long" too! anyway, this CD is a tribute to a man who has been all but forgotten and there's no logical reason as to why. George Jones performance of "Yes I Know Why" is the highlight of the CD for me. He was the #1 country artist of the 1950s and among the Top-10 artists of the 1960s. In the 1950's he sent 13 singles to the #1 spot. You might ask yourself: that's nothing too spectacular. Well, those 13 #1 hits spent a total of 111 weeks at #1. His biggest #1 was "In The Jailhouse Now", which hit #1 for 21 weeks in 1955. Dale Watson and the Jordanaires kick off this CD with their version. "Slowly" was #1 for Webb for 17 weeks in 1954. That's performed on this CD by Mandy Barnett. George's song on here, "Yes I Know Why", was a 7 week #2 hit for Webb in 1956. Ironically, the previous single for Webb was a song George co-wrote called "Why Baby Why". Actually, Webb sung harmony for Red Sovine on that single but since Webb was the bigger artist he got top billing. Kevin Welch and Deborah Pierce perform "Why Baby Why" on this CD. Charley Pride gives us "I'm Tired". Billy Walker gives us "I Don't Care", which Webb took to #1 for 12 weeks in 1955. I love the CD and the reason i give it 4 stars is because there's no new acts on here that would even remotely prompt young record buyers to buy this. It gets 5 stars for being eclectic and having great artists but we needed some newer acts on it too. . . just to have in order to sell to new country fans.

Overdue tribute to fifties country star
While many Hank Williams songs have been covered frequently, and not just by country singers, it is rare to find Webb's hits (of which there were many) covered. Webb Pierce was perhaps the most successful country singer in the fifties, but history has not been kind to his music. This album contains many of his biggest hits, but In the jailhouse now was itself a cover of a Jimmie Rodgers song, and how many of the others have you heard other than by Webb himself?

Gail Davies wanted this album to redress the balance, so as to give Webb his due recognition, but I'm not sure if it really changes anything, as today's big names are largely missing. Still, there are some brilliant singers here and it will surely turn a few people on to the music of Webb Pierce.

Big stars of yesteryear include Charley Pride (I'm tired), George Jones (Yes I know why), Emmylou Harris (Wondering), Crystal Gayle (More and more) and Willie Nelson (That's me without you). Willie did a duet album with Webb back in the eighties, so this is not his first tribute to the man.

More recent stars include Dwight Yoakam (If you were me and I were you), Allison Moorer (Back street affair) and Pam Tillis (No love have I).

There is plenty of steel guitar and other traditional country instrumentation throughout this album, which is of a consistently high quality and makes a fitting tribute to Webb. If you are already a Webb fan, you will enjoy this. If you are not a Webb fan but you enjoy traditional country, buy this then buy some of Webb's own music when you realise how good he was.

A Fitting Tribute to Webb Pierce
This obviously heartfelt tribute to country music legend Webb Pierce is an exception. First, let me say that while I love the concept of tribute albums it's rare that I come across one that can stand on it's own merits as a solid album. While many tribute albums feature songs with varying levels of quality or with a variety of musical styles (I personally don't want to hear a reggae or punk cover of a classic country song), this tribute album features 21 cuts of classic country performed by country artists and there isn't one clunker on the whole album. My personal favorites are Dale Watson & the Jordanaires' take on "In the Jailhouse Now" and Charley Pride's "I'm Tired. " Quality musicianship and production are found throughout. Fans of Webb Pierce and fans of classic country won't go wrong here. Credit needs to be given to Gail Davies for putting her heart and soul into this project, a fitting tribute to an often overlooked legend. As an added bonus, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this disc benefit the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation & the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Good, but not that good
There are a few OK things here: Lionel Cartwright and Billy Walker. Webb deserved so much more. But most of the rest is pedestrian. Emmylou shreds "Wondering" to pieces. Del McCourey does a hateful sounding version of "I'm Walking the Dog. " Charley Pride sounds hoarse on his cut. They had the right idea, but didn't spend enough time to get it right. It could have been so much better.

A for effort, C for results
It has a lot of good ingredients, but they don't mix very well. I would really have liked to be able to say that this is a good album, but sadly it isn't. The sound is murky, and almost every song sounds like it was recorded in a rush - and that applies to the choice of tempi as well. Allison Moorer's rendering of "Back street affair" is simply awful. Dwight Yoakam sounds like he is doing a parody of. . . . . Dwight Yoakam, and about half of the other singers just try to mimick Webb Pierce's (unimitable) singing style. Most have chosen songs that do not fit their voices, and even George Jones has lost his "soul". There are few instrumental efforts that deserve any notice - even Weldon Myrick's steel playing sounds uninspired. And so on. . . OK, Mandy Barnett does fine, as does Willie Nelson, and it was nice hearing Crystal Gayle again, but my overall impression is that Webb Pierce's legacy deserves better.

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