Buck Owens, "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail"

Buck Owens
"I've Got A Tiger By The Tail"
Capitol (1965)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Remember a little while back when we looked at Steve Earle and I ranted against the onslaught of popular country music? Let's revisit that theme, but take the story back even further by looking at Buck Owens and his 1965 hit record "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail."

During the early '60s, country music was reaching what was then its highest point of popularity, and simultaneously began to separate into two distinct branches. The first was the "Nashville Sound," a more polished approach that didn't shy away from incorporating less-than-blue-collar instruments (such as playing a violin like a violin and not a fiddle). Most of the era's biggest names, such as Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash, represented the Nashville sound. In response to Nashville's more southern approach to country, the "Bakersfield Sound" (named after Bakersfield, CA., its recording headquarters with Capitol) tended towards a more western style, with pedal steel guitars and acoustic strumming. Owens and his band, The Buckaroos, became the biggest name in the West.

If there's ever any doubt which scene a '60s country artist belongs in, just listen to the lead singer's voice. Owens had a Texas-twang that reflected his heritage well. Even more important to the Buckaroos' sound was the guitar playing of Don Rich. Rich was the first lead guitarist in the genre to popularize the Fender Telecaster, and his simple, signature style of soloing is all over this record. Rich, a long time friend and band member with Owens, also handles the fiddle on a couple of tracks and even the vocals for "Wham Bam." "Fallin' For You" is the best example of a Rich bridge on the album.

Owens may have been a retroactive victim of the '60s country stereotypes that he helped found. For one, there's the popular country/blues form that dips so far into lament that it earned the descriptive title "my dog died blues." The pedal steel guitar playing of Tom Brumley (the tone so popular in the Western genre) is so mournful, and the vocals of Owens so emotive, that tracks like "Cryin' Time" and "Let The Sad Times Roll On" just seem silly. Even when the band is in a more upbeat mood (there's no in-between for tears and laughter with Owens), there's no gripping narrative that made Marty Robbins' "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs" worth the listen. Owens finally ascended/descended to the throne for country music stereotypes when he began hosting "Hee Haw" in 1968.

Look, if you're not a fan of country music as it is, I'm not going to encourage you to check out this record. It certainly wasn't my cup of tea. If anything, listen to my sample track below to get a feel for Rich's guitar playing and then bail out. If those names I listed under the "Nashville Sound" seemed a lot more appealing, you're not alone. Don't worry. They'll make an appearance eventually, and I'll give them a nice write-up (so you hardcore country fans don't need to jump down my throat yet).

INTERESTING FACT: "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" includes a cover of the traditional song "A Maiden's Prayer." This song is played by garbage trucks in Taiwan to let citizens know that they are making their rounds. This fact has little to do with Buck Owens, but I'll be damned if it isn't one of the best interesting facts I've found so far.

Steve Earle, "Guitar Town"

Steve Earle
"Guitar Town"
MCA (1986)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

If you're a fan of modern mainstream country music, stop reading this post now, because it will result in you being offended. The problem with the aforementioned variety of country music is that it aims for, and acts upon, stereotypes. To put it in as politically incorrect as possible, it's like the blackface troubadours of the late nineteenth century, except the audience isn't in on the joke anymore. During the '80s, country largely stopped being musicians playing in a country/western style and became guys in cowboy hats (often from nowhere near pastoral America) singing about "honky-tonk badonkadonks" and similar nonsense.

My point is ultimately this: Steve Earle, today's post subject, gets a little too much credit for being a forbearer of "alt-country," the title given to all country musicians who don't contemplate sexy tractors. Earle released his debut "Guitar Town" in 1986, three years before Garth Brooks released his self-titled debut. In a word, country musicians (the obvious example: Johnny Cash) had been singing about social injustice and drug abuse for a while before Earle took the stage.

"Guitar Town" does display the seeds of what would become Earle's political-narrative songwriting style. "Good 'Ol Boy (Getting' Tough)" details the difficulties faced by a vet returning from Vietnam, singing he was "born in the land of plenty/now there ain't enough." The approach mirrors the method of Bruce Springsteen, who had distributed social commentary via song in a popular manner for more than ten years by that point, and the similarity is less than coincidental (The 2002 reissue of "Guitar Town" features a live cover of Springsteen's "State Trooper"). Earle however keeps his spirits high and hopeful on tracks like "Someday," a rousing ode about getting out of a one-horse town, while Springsteen tended towards cynicism on similar tracks like 1984's "Born In The USA."

Earle isn't one to completely ignore his blue-collar Texas upbringing however, as titles like "Hillbilly Highway" go to show. Thankfully, the guitarist uses classic Western instrumental parts to make it bearable. Check out the walking upright bass on "Hillbilly" or the cowboy-emoting pedal steel guitar on the lamenting "My Old Friend The Blues."

There's no doubt that Earle has had a hand in inspiring modern "alt-country" artists like Lucinda Williams and the Drive-By Truckers, I just mean to say that his role in creating the genre may be overstated. Ultimately, if you truly enjoy country music, there's no reason why you shouldn't enjoy this. But, on the other hand, if you truly hate country music, that's no guarantee that you'll feel the same about "Guitar Town." Personally, however, I'd look more forward to Earle's more recent work in "Transcendental Blues," which Tom Moon will look at later.

INTERESTING FACT: Earle worked as a songwriter for a while before releasing his own album. In 1975, he wrote the song "Mustang Wine" for Elvis Presley, and this fact would've been a lot more interesting if Presley had shown up the day it was to be recorded.

Marty Robbins, "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs"

Marty Robbins
"Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs"
CBS (1959)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die + 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die

Back in the day (and I mean back in the day), country music was labeled as “country-western” and was sung by people who lived in the country; not just the south. Although Burl Ives’s folk days might stand out to listeners as the signature Western voice, the biggest name in actual Western music was Marty Robbins, largely thanks to his album “Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs.” Robbins was established within the rock ‘n’ roll scene, and found more success when he turned to his Arizona childhood and old west tales for inspiration.

The record was a concept album in the sense that every song was about exactly what the title suggests: gunfighters and driving cattle. Robbins pulled eight already established tracks from other vocalists in the subgenre and western standards. For his purposes, it didn’t matter that he only wrote four original songs. It may have helped the album out however. Those four are among the best.

Album opener “Big Iron” is a typical tale of Texas Ranger versus notorious outlaw, and is actually the least appealing track that Robbins wrote. “El Paso” is a more intriguing tale about a cowboy with an overwhelming obsession with a waitress in the titular city. Listeners also found it captivating, awarding it the first Grammy for “Best Country/Western” song. One track that doesn’t get the attention it deserves is “The Master’s Call,” a tale of a cattle driver who survives a terrible storm and hears the voice of God. Perhaps the religious overtones overshadow the Western themes for some listeners, but it is still the best written song on this album.

Most country music, realistically most music in general, features lyrics that are addressed at singular individuals, whether the message is one of love, violence or the like. Robbins is different in that nearly every track is written in narrative form. All of the songs I mentioned in the previous paragraph as well as standards like “Utah Carol” and “The Strawberry Roan” are stories that have introductions, rising action and established conclusions. Metaphor is at an all time low, but the developing plots make for interesting listens.

Granted, Robbins’s voice is not gruff like an ideal, hardened trail-rider. He based his voice on cowboy movie star Gene Autry, a far shot from John Wayne, who is of course a long shot from Billy the Kid. Aside from his being from Arizona, Robbins’s tales aren’t meant to be packed with authenticity. Today however, Robbins’ narrative style stands out, and “Gunfighter Ballads” could be compared to a simpler version of a Decemberists album.

INTERESTING FACT: Rosa’s Cantina, the main setting of “El Paso,” is a real bar in the city that was open when Robbins wrote the album. I tried to research it, but the cantina does not have its own website and I couldn’t establish whether it dated back to the 19th century.

"The Master's Call"