Shiver [Enhanced]

Shiver [Enhanced]

ASIN: B00004YWW5

Track Listings

1. When I Think About Angels

2. There Is No Arizona

3. Where We Belong - Rodney Good, Jamie O'Neal

4. No More Protecting My Heart

5. She Hasn't Heard It Yet

6. You Rescued Me

7. Shiver

8. Only Thing Wrong

9. I'm Still Waiting

10. I'm Not Gonna Do Anything Without You - Jamie O'Neal, Mark Wills

11. Sanctuary

12. Frantic

13. To Be With You

Tracks:

Good Ol USA
Georgia On A Fast Train
Freedom's Child
Try And Try Again
Old Chunk Of Coal
Step On Up
Honky Tonk Heroes
Hottest Thing In Town
That's What She Said Last Night
When Fallen Angels Fly
I Couldn't Be Me Without You
Black Rose
Light A Candle For Me
Ride Me Down Easy
Melody
Old Five And Dimers
You Asked Me To
Live Forever

Amazon.com

Johnny Cash once called him "my favorite songwriter," and Waylon Jennings recorded nearly an entire album (Honky Tonk Heroes) of his material in 1973--lots of folks insist that was the first true "outlaw" record. Billy Joe Shaver, whose "Old Chunk of Coal," "Georgia on a Fast Train," and "Old Five and Dimers" rank as standards of Texas singer-songwriter lore, is closer to his 70th birthday than his 60th, but he still burns it down on stage, and he still lives the soulful, close-to-the-bone life of his impoverished, raggedy-ass youth. These days, it would be easy for the five-time Grammy nominee to lean on his woeful personal story--growing up picking cotton and dropping out of school in the eighth grade, then losing his wife, mother, and guitarist son, Eddy, in a matter of months at the turn of the millennium. Instead, he continues to challenge himself in his writing. This collection of his best-loved songs (it's erroneous to call them "hits") contains a driving live rendition of "Georgia" and two new offerings (the remarkable love song "Light a Candle for Me" and the tongue-in-cheek "Melody") as well as some lubricated on-stage preaching and storytelling. (It also reprises his unfortunate duet with Big & Rich on "Live Forever"... but let's pretend that never happened.) Shaver's singing remains an acquired taste, rivaling a rusty barn-door latch rattling in the wind. Yet in the age of Pro-Tooled prettiness, authenticity never sounded more welcome. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews:

Original Mind.......2007-05-25

I really am enjoying Billy Joe's Greatest Hits CD. His lyrics are so original and have stood the test of time. As a performer, he doesn't fit the cookie cutter mold and that is refreshing...

One of the greatest songwriters. Ever........2007-04-13

Along with Kris Kristofferson, Shel Silversteen, and a small handful of others, Billy Joe Shaver influenced country songwriting forever. His honest, true-to-the-bone lyrics and rough and rowdy lifestyle (he was just recently involved in a shooting down in Texas) have made him the Poet Laureate for the down-trodden and ne'er-do-wells. GREATEST HITS compiles some of this legend's most provocative work, as only he could perform it.

Shaver's songs range from the patriotic enthusiasm of "Good Ol USA," to the whistfulness of "Melody," to the raucous delight of "Honk Tonk Heroes," to the beautifully poignant of "When Fallen Angels Fly." On the rowdy "Georgia on a Fast Train," he proudly sings of his eighth grade education; he may be sending the wrong message to the youth of today, but let's face it, we don't give a good god-darn. He's an old chunk of coal, who will one day be a diamond; he praises the hottest girl in town, who used to hang around with Heaven 'til she learned too much; he's tempted by a rose of a different name; he's an old five and dimer and still dang-proud of it. But, truthfully, we can sum up Billy Joe Shaver with one simple paraphrase of one of his most elegant songs: like the greatest that humanity has to offer, Billy Joe Shaver is gonna live forever.

Average customer rating:

great.
Billy Joe proves Nashville can be forgotten
5+ Stars for a Living Legend!
It don't get no better than this
Shaver: Take Your Hats Off!

Tramp on Your Street
Billy Joe Shaver
Manufacturer: Volcano
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Restless Wind: The Legendary Billy Joe Shaver: 1973-1987
Old Five and Dimers Like Me
Unshaven: Live at Smith's Olde Bar
The Earth Rolls On
Victory

ASIN: B00000099F
Release Date: 1993-08-10

Tracks:

Heart of Texas
Oklahoma Wind
Georgia on a Fast Train
Live Forever
If I Give My Soul
Tramp on Your Street
K. A. N. D., Corsicana, Texas
Good 'Ol U.S.A.
The Hottest Thing in Town
When the Fallen Angels Fly
Take a Chance on Romance
Old Chunk of Coal
I Want Some More followed by Tenntex Tear Down

Amazon.com

Billy Joe Shaver has never had a hit of his own, but he's written plenty of hits for others (John Anderson's "Old Chunk of Coal," Tom T. Hall's "Old Five and Dimers," Bobby Bare's "Ride Me Down Easy"), and he's credited for launching the "Outlaw Country" movement by writing every song but one on Waylon Jennings's 1973 album, Honky Tonk Heroes. Shaver's own albums, though, are highly prized among critics and his fellow musicians, and both those camps celebrated the release of only his second album in 11 years, 1996's Tramp on Your Street. Waylon Jennings helps out his old pal on the autobiographical "Heart of Texas" and on "Oklahoma Wind," which manages to evoke the tragedy of the American Indian without getting all sentimental. Brother Phelps adds hillbilly harmonies to two songs. Best of all is the title song, a true story about a 10-year-old Billy Joe Shaver walking 10 miles to hear Hank Williams sing at the Wonder Bread bakery in Corsicana, Texas. The song blossoms, however, into a universal anthem about the importance of culture to the poorest and most desperate among us. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

great........2006-05-23

this is it. this is the best modern country album anyone has made. i won't say no more. you need to be buying this cd right now instead of reading my words.

Billy Joe proves Nashville can be forgotten.......2005-09-06

I have 3 Billy Joe Shaver cds. All of them are excellent. Why, in the later years of Billy Joe's life, does Nashville exclude the real purveyors of country music from its pantheon of stars? I'll never know. This cd starts with the help of Waylon Jennings and you can see why Waylon borrowed heavily from the Billy Joe songbook. Waylon's deeper voice makes these tunes shine, but it is the songs themselves that are already diamonds. Waylon just put the luster on a polished stone.
Eddie Shaver is a great guitarist. He will be missed. This boy could chops some wood! And he has great taste in not overdoing any of these numbers. He should have been a a studio mainstay in Nashville, instead he is dead.
His father is the master behind all of this. What a great songwriter and even a good singer and muscian. If you are country music fan, please get this cd and find out what Nashville had either forgotten or doesn't know about.

5+ Stars for a Living Legend!.......2003-05-07

Thank the good Lord that Billy Joe Shaver came into my life around 1993! The video for 'Georgia On A Fast Train' was just so cool, with this raspy voiced elder statesman dispensing hard earned wisdom amidst the blazing guitar of a long haired virtuoso. The cute girlfriend (Eddy's, I'd suppose he he) dancing at the shack wasn't too bad either! Next, it was the derriere kicking video for 'Hottest Thing In Town' that caught my eyes and ears. It again featured the ringing guitar of the one I had come to know as Billy Joe's son, Eddy Shaver.

I was indeed enthralled by this record and had to explore why this Billy Joe dude is called a 'living legend'. This record is outstanding, and kicks off with two duets with Waylon Jennings. It seemed fitting that Billy's resurgent record would open with Waylon's assistance, as it was Billy's muse that produced the great songs that became Jenning's 'Honky Tonk Heroes' in 1973 and introduced Billy to the world. No small feat for the 'unknown writer' at the time, seeing as though it is considered the opening salvo of the 'outlaw movement'.

I was very pleased to hear Billy's "Old Chunk of Coal" after being familiar with John Anderson's version. Billy's version carries more emotional weight as he imbues the song with first person emotion; indeed, the song was orginally written in the late 1970s when Billy decided to forgo wine and drink with the help of his good Lord. I've since found out that the legend himself, Johnny Cash recorded the song in the late 70s as well. 'Good Ol' USA' is a unique piece, basically melding the seemingly disparate elements of 'music hall' with the wisdom of a honky tonk bard.

The two duets with Brother Phelps are excellent and make you wonder if the chief 'Headhunter' is still on the prowl! 'Live Forever' is absolutely a stunning piece of spirituality, with excellent picking by Eddy on the acoustic. "If I Give My Soul' is a more uptempo tune and mimics the theme of the aforementioned 'Old Chunk of Coal'.

There's nothing much more you can say about 'Georgia On A Fast Train' besides it's much different from the original tune included on his 1973 debut 'Old Five and Dimers' which had a slower, storytelling tempo. "Got a good Christian raisin' and a 8th grade education, ain't no need y'all a treatin' me this way" summates in a nutshell where Billy Joe is coming from. Oh yea, I recall there is a sequence in the video where Eddy is playing on a railraod track which reminded me of the ballyhooed video featuring Joe Perry of Aerosmith. Let's just say it did not remind one of some clever sales gimmick as the Shavers are as real as real can be. Eddy was indeed a great hard rock guitarist! R.I.P.

'Hottest Thing In Town' is a 'hard honky tonkin' rock' tune that will have you on your feet for the longest!

The cd reminds me somewhat of Johnny Cash's 'UnChained' album in that you have a country legend pairing up with a rocker a la Tom Petty. Shaver leaned more toward the hillbilly blues side of things than The Man In Black though and this album is built on original material while Cash's American Recordings series is built more on great covers. I'd say this is akin to Hank Williams Sr. coming back to the land of the living and recording with say, Eddie Van Halen!!!

There is a great live cd "Unshaven: Live At Smith's Olde Bar" that chonicles many of these tunes and captures the ferocity of Shaver live. I had the chance to see Shaver live in 1998 at a club in Houston, Texas. What energy and verve these guys displayed!!! Billy Joe came out into the audience after the show and I even chatted with him a minute or two. I told him I was from Alabama and that Texas had a Montgomery and Huntsville within 25 miles of each other, much like two of Alabama's four largest cities. He mentioned he had lived in both Huntsvilles and I asked him how it felt living near the 'death chamber'. Billy said the Alabama version of Huntsville provoked death more than the Texas one because 'you die from the rocket fumes'. The guy is like meeting your next door neighbor or something; no pretense whatsoever. Perhaps this kept him from being the 'household name' he deserves to be because he does not have a 'stars air' to him. I like to believe it makes him more remarkable and loved by the fans because 'he is what he is' on his records! The girldfriend wasn't bad, either LOL!

This is a 5 star record easily, but I'd still say 'Old Five and Dimers' is the pinnacle of the songwriting muse of Billy Joe Shaver. 'Outlaw classics' such as 'Willie the Wandering Gypsy', 'Georgia On a Fast Train', 'Good Christian Soldier', and 'Old Five and Dimers' debuted on that magic platter. Chances are if it was an outlaw hit for Willie, Waylon, Kristofferson, Cash, or even Tom T. Hall, it was penned by Billy. In fact, Tom T. Hall said Billy was his favorite songwriter.

I'd put this cd in the Top 5 of alt country-country rock records I've heard in the last 15 years behind 'American Recordings' by Mr. Cash and 'The Impossible Bird' by Cash's former son in law, Nick Lowe. GREAT RECORD!

Go check out the All Music Guide and see that they say on a review for 'Victory' that Mr. Shaver is "the only songwriter who could ever hope to stand toe-to-toe with Hank Williams, Sr". Get this cd and many others and see why for yourself!

Billy has went through a lot of late, with the loss of Eddy, his mother, his wife, and his own heart attack. I raise my glass to his resilience, managing to put out a great record like 'Freedom's Child' last year amidst all the heartache.

It don't get no better than this.......2003-04-08

I'm working my way backward in time in discovering the rich musical legacy of father and son Billy Joe and Eddie Shaver. I started with 2000's The Earth Rolls On, another 5-star recording, but this one, from 1993, is even a little better. This kind of music carries on the authentic legacy of rock 'n roll and western swing in a way that contemporary pop and country music absolutely do not. The musical licks are sharp, the vocals full-throated (with some help from Waylon Jennings) and the words always heartfelt and often funny. Very rarely does an artist deliver six tunes in a row as powerful as Tracks 1-6 here. One of my favorites is #3, Georgia on a Fast Train ("Got a good Christian raisin' and a 8th grade education, ain't no need y'all a treatin' me this way"). Eddie's guitar licks come so fast that Billy Joe has to caution him, "Aw, slow down, Eddie" (or is it "throw down"?). I also especially like #5, If I Give My Soul, an autobiographical account in which Billy Joe wonders if he can save his marriage by giving his soul to Jesus. (In reality, he did both.) Track 7, KAND Corsicana, Texas, is a novelty item, a seemingly authentic 1944 radio announcement of the beginning of the D-Day invasion followed by a quick prayer for our troops, and right into Track 8, Good Ol' USA. I first listened to this CD as anti-US demonstrations were sweeping the world, and our troops were preparing for another invasion, and the cumulative weight of this music made me want it to be heard and understood by all our enemies who haven't got a clue what this country is about. Naive, maybe, but this CD is a piece of bedrock American culture that can make us all proud. Billy Joe, you are a national treasure.

Shaver: Take Your Hats Off!.......2001-10-18

Billy Joe Shaver is one of the greatest songwriters that ever walked the face of this earth. This is a great album. IF you like music period, you will love Shaver! Every song on this CD is great.(just like all of Shaver's albums) If you don't have this ...GET IT NOW! This ol' Tramp takes his hat off to Mr. Billy Joe once again....Dont let me catch you without Billy Joe Shaver in your music library if you claim to be a country music fan!Take your Hats off! WHOOOOOOP HEEEEEEUH!!

Average customer rating:

Live, loud, and essential!
It's a little bit Country, and a whole lot Southern Rock
Billy Joe and Eddy Shaver AND...
Live Texas Roadhouse Honky Tonk At It's Absolute Finest
Country? Rock? Great? Yes. Yes. Yes.

Unshaven: Live at Smith's Olde Bar
Billy Joe Shaver
Manufacturer: Volcano
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Country | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Tramp on Your Street
Old Five and Dimers Like Me
The Earth Rolls On
Electric Shaver
Restless Wind: The Legendary Billy Joe Shaver: 1973-1987

ASIN: B0000009AC
Release Date: 1995-06-27

Tracks:

The Hottest Thing In Town
Good News Blues
Georgia On A Fast Train
Hony Tonk Heroes
Honey Bee
Ride Me Down
Love You 'Til The Cows Come Home
Live Forever
Black Rose
Old Chunk Of Coal
Sweet Mama
You Asked Me To

Customer Reviews:

Live, loud, and essential!.......2006-01-10

This is THE live album that captures the searing guitar work of Eddy and the soaring lyrics of Billy Joe Shaver. This is on my list of "desert island" discs and a MUST for Shaver fans. Billy Joe Shaver is one of the greatest songwriters alive today and his songs shine in this setting. You can almost taste the beer and feel the amps scream! Eddy was one of the best guitar players around, hands down and this is full testament to his power. This show was filmed for a planned concert release but the project was unfortunately later shelved. A shame we'll never get to see it but at least the magic can be heard again and again...

It's a little bit Country, and a whole lot Southern Rock.......2004-10-29

If you're into that, then you will be happy. I saw Billy Joe Shaver at Twangfest '02 and thought he was fantastic. This was due to his incredible talent, and the fact he was not backed by Lynard Skynard. I did not realize that's what I would be getting on this disc (not that there's anything wrong with Skynard). My error.

Billy Joe and Eddy Shaver AND..........2004-04-06

Accurate praise has been posted here already about this shining moment of Shaver-family renaissance. To add, however: a live band can only be as good as its rhythm section, and this disc has the insanely great Keith Christopher playing bass and singing. And I *think* that's Craig Wright on drums (correct me someone if I am wrong)-- the same drummer from the Steve Earle "Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator" tour and record. This lineup of Shaver is a great band in its perfect incarnation!

aspasia

Live Texas Roadhouse Honky Tonk At It's Absolute Finest.......2003-12-25

Shaver's fantastic "Unshaven" definitely tops the pile of my desert island discs. This cd jumped out of the speakers and grabbed me when I first heard it almost 9 years ago. From the first cut, the listener is transported to a dark & smokey honky tonk where Texas's greatest singer-songwriter and his incendiary band hit the stage and don't let up until the last notes fade.
For over 20 years, Billy Joe Shaver had been lauded by both the critics and his contemporaries yet criminally ignored for by the music buying public. However in the mid 1990's, Shaver jumpstarted his career with a fierce new sound, a new band that featured his guitar-prodigy son, the late, great, Eddy and an outstanding new album "Tramp On Your Street". "Unshaven" was released hot on the heels of this amazing and featured many of his best loved songs, including "Georgia On A Fast Train", "Hottest Thing In Town", "Honky Tonk Heroes" and "Live Forever".
As a veteran of many Shaver's live shows, I can attest this as fine of a snapshot of their live show that you'll ever find. For me their live shows often approached the level of a religious experience. Man...I miss those days and that music!

Country? Rock? Great? Yes. Yes. Yes........2002-11-17

Great CD for music lovers...it crosses musical boundaries and is excellent from start to finish. I don't know much about Billy Joe Shaver (saw him on TV and bought the CD), but the music is really good.

Average customer rating:

You are only cheating yourself if you don't add this to your collection.
very good
Artists influence apparent
Interesting, if not misleading title!
Warning: This is not a blues CD

Brother to the Blues
Tab Benoit , Billy Joe Shaver , Jim Lauderdale , and Louisiana's LeRoux
Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

New Orleans Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Fever for the Bayou
Best of the Bayou Blues
Voice of the Wetlands
Delta Hardware
Full Circle

ASIN: B000EYK4EE
Release Date: 2006-04-25

Tracks:

Pack It Up
Bring It On Home To Me
Brother To The Blues
Why Are People Like That?
I'm On Your Side
I Heard That Lonesome Whistle
If You Love Me
Comin' On Strong
So High
Grace's Song
Moon Coming Over The Hill
Somehow
Can't Do One More Two Step

Amazon.com

Louisiana native Tab Benoit has been slinging his swamp-R&B-blues-rock concoction for the better part of 15 years, and from the sound of this disc's opening two tunes, it seems that little besides his backing band has changed. But when the title track kicks in with sorrowful fiddle, crying pedal steel (also played by Benoit), and a lovely, lonely honky-tonk melody, it's clear the singer/guitarist has decided to visit some unique territory. Country stalwarts Jim Lauderdale and Billy Joe Shaver swing by to provide duet vocals for Benoit's versions of their songs. Even Hank Williams Sr.'s "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle" gets covered as Benoit finds the blues at the heart of the country standard. Those who are not county lovers need not be concerned that Benoit has gone all George Jones on them. He still grinds out slabs of tough bayou rocking in the crackling "So High" and the opening "Pack It Up." There's also a heartbreaking, loungey, slow blues ("Somehow") and a soul-seared cover of Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me" that shows how effective Benoit is as an interpretive vocalist. The funky Little Feat/Neville Brothers-styled "Can't Do One More Two-Step" truly brings it home on a diverse outing that stretches boundaries and adds depth to Benoit's already impressive roots. --Hal Horowitz

Customer Reviews:

You are only cheating yourself if you don't add this to your collection........2007-04-06

It's hot, it's cool, it's cajun, blues, soul, folk and country performed like no other can. Tab Benoit is a humble and unfortunately under-recognized artist who blinds you live and lights you up with his recordings. This is the kind of stuff we've been waiting for. No more bored musicians. Tab handles a guitar with the ease of SRV, the soul of Jimi and the heart of the Bayou.

very good.......2006-11-06

A morning jazz show (WRTC) played Pack it up, Bring it on home to me & Why are people like that and I bought this CD the next day. I love Sam Cook songs as those whom sing them. A little slower than most sing Bring it on home, it was brrillian! As is all of this CD! Reminded me of Chris Tofield but with a Louisiana twang & for certain our country influence! I'm 45 & thought they no longer make music this good. You'll like this!

Artists influence apparent.......2006-06-15

Tab's previous albums had acute cajun and root influence. On this CD the instrument choice and powerful deep vocals made this apparent. Blues and country fans alike will appreciate the artisty and song choice. This album not only keeps Tab's current fans, but also creates a possible new audience. Overall great sound quality and fantastic buy.

Interesting, if not misleading title!.......2006-06-02

Tab Benoit is one of my favorite blues artists and I particularly like it when he mixes the blues with a little Cajun flavor from the Bayou. That being said, I was taken by surprise at the lack of blues on this release. The CD consists of mostly hillside country music complete with pedal steel, banjo and fiddle. Something tells me that if he titled this recording to reveal its true contents, sales would be somewhat dismal. Tab's tip of the hat to the songs which he knew as a child will be better appreciated by some country fans but, it is sure to leave blues fans a little unsatisfied. Especially knowing that we may have to wait another year or two for a suitable new release.

Warning: This is not a blues CD.......2006-05-11

Don't let the title confuse you. This is not a blues CD. Its country. Tab Benoit writes in the liner notes this is a "special project" of all of his "early musical influences" "especially early country music."

It's well recorded. It has some nice music. It has fiddles, banjos and pedal steel guitars. But it isn't a "brother to the blues." It's only a distant cousin.

Restless Wind: The Legendary Billy Joe Shaver: 1973-1987

Average customer rating:

the real deal.
The best of his breed!

Restless Wind: The Legendary Billy Joe Shaver: 1973-1987
Billy Joe Shaver
Manufacturer: Razor & Tie
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Tramp on Your Street
Old Five and Dimers Like Me
Unshaven: Live at Smith's Olde Bar
Honky Tonk Heroes
The Earth Rolls On

ASIN: B000002ZD8
Release Date: 1995-09-19

Tracks:

Black Rose
Old Five And Dimers Like Me
Bottom Dollar
Lately I Been Leanin' T'ward The Blues
Texas Uphere Tennessee
Ride Me Down Easy
When I Get My Wings
A Restless Wind
You Asked Me To
Fit To Kill And Going Out In Style
Ragged Old Truck
I'm Just An Old Chunk Of Coal
Amtrak (Ain't Coming Back)
Low Down Freedom
I Been To Georgia On A Fast Train
Sweet Mama
It Was Fun While It Lasted
Good News Blues

Amazon.com

In many respects, the true measure of an artist is his reputation among peers. Using this metric, Billy Joe Shaver remains one of country music's greatest assets. Culled from six records (three from the '70s and three from the '80s), this retrospective not only salutes the songwriter, but also sheds light on the gruff, effortless singer. Assisted along the way by friends including Dickey Betts, Willie Nelson, and son Eddy, Shaver sings with brutal honesty about love, faith, religion, rambling, fighting, and freedom. Despite the varied subjects, he never seems to contradict himself: He knows that all have a place in real life. More than "outlaw country," this is "outcast country." Eddy's guitar work, which accompanies all of the 1980s work, adds even more punch to his father's sound. By anyone's expectations, this would have been the definitive Shaver collection, but who'd have thought that Billy Joe and son would still be pumping out superb records throughout the 1990s? --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

the real deal........2007-03-26

okay folks, round up all your toby keith, vince gill, and garth brooks cds, take 'em down to the goodwill and leave them there. then get yourself some real country genius. billy joe shaver is about as good a place as any to start your new, more rewarding life.

The best of his breed!.......1999-04-20

As much as I lover Willie and Johnny, they can't come close to Waylon, and even the God-like Waylon must bow a bit to Billy Joe. Look carefully at the songs from Waylon and crew that you like the most, and very likely they are penned by Shaver. This disc is simply the very best of this type. None even close.

Average customer rating:

the real mccoy.
Some of the best song writing
Old Five and Dimers Like Me
Classic Honkey-Tonk

Old Five and Dimers Like Me
Billy Joe Shaver
Manufacturer: Koch Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Traditional Country | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Tramp on Your Street
I'm Just An Old Chunk Of Coal...But I'm Gonna Be A Diamond Someday
Restless Wind: The Legendary Billy Joe Shaver: 1973-1987
Unshaven: Live at Smith's Olde Bar
The Earth Rolls On

ASIN: B000001SMQ
Release Date: 1996-11-19

Tracks:

Black Rose
Old Five And Dimers Like Me
L.A. Turnaround
Jesus Christ, What A Man
Played the Game Too Long
I Been To Georgia On A Fast Train
Willy The Wandering Gypsy and Me
Low Down Freedom
Jesus Was Our Savior And Cotton Was Our King
Serious Souls
Bottom Dollar
Ride Cowboy Ride
Good Christian Soldier

Amazon.com

Old Five and Dimers Like Me is archetypal outlaw country. Released in 1973, it's a showcase for Billy Joe Shaver's significant songwriting skills (the title track and a couple others became standards in Lone Star circles). As a vocalist, Shaver is a gruff droner a la Five and Dimers producer Kris Kristofferson. In other words, he doesn't range far, but he hits the mark most of the time. Fans of the genre will appreciate this timepiece. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

the real mccoy........2007-03-26

Some of the best song writing.......2005-11-21

Most of these songs were done by Waylon Jennings on Honky Tonk Heros, so having heard Jennings sing these, I have to say that some of the songs on this album are slightly over produced for Shaver's voice. Still you can't find any better lyrics... "Jesus Christ, what a man".

Old Five and Dimers Like Me.......2003-06-24

I bought this CD as a whim after I heard Willy Nelson say Billy Joe Shavers describes it best when he said,"movement is the closest thing to being free." Being the lover of a well tuned phrase it perked a curiousity to hear more of him.From the minute I first played it I new I would love it all....there really are no words adequate to describe how pleasing and easy to listen to his style is.You can sing along from the get go and makes an excellent companion on long car trips.

Classic Honkey-Tonk.......1998-07-10

This CD was produced with Kris Kristofferson in the early 70's. It has some of the wistful folk music overtones of that era. This is not a CD for the Garth Brooks fans out there...Billy Joe's music is deeper, with a sharp edge to it. It lacks the fire of the much more recent "Tramp on your Street" but if you like REAL C & W - like it's still heard in the little honkey-tonks and bars and down at the Eagle's Lodge on Saturday night, buy this one!

Average customer rating:

Great Road Trip music
country genius.
The Real Deal
Talent that Really Shines
This man has some BIG Cowboy boots!!!

The Real Deal
Billy Joe Shaver
Manufacturer: Compadre Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Restless Wind: The Legendary Billy Joe Shaver: 1973-1987
Come on Back
Tramp on Your Street
Snake Farm
Old Five and Dimers Like Me

ASIN: B000AQKYUU
Release Date: 2005-09-20

Tracks:

Live Forever (with Big and Rich)
Theres No Fool Like an Old Fool
Livin and Lovin Lie
It Just Aint There For Me No More
Jesus Christ is Still The King
Slim Chance and the Cant Hardly Playboys (with Kevin Fowler)
I Changed My Mind
Sweet Melody
Valentine (with Nanci Griffith)
You Ought to be with Me When Im Alone
Down the Road by the Way
West Texas Waltz (with Kimmie Rhodes)
The Real Deal
If the Trailers A Rockin Dont Come Knockin
Try and Try Again
Aunt Jessies Chicken Ranch

Amazon.com

Rough-hewn Texas treasure Billy Joe Shaver is something like that old chunk of coal he once wrote about--except his "diamond" already shines through. On this self-produced effort, his first new studio release in three years, he strips things down to the basics in mostly acoustic arrangements that sometimes recall Hank Williams Sr. at his starkest and most vulnerable. The material--alternately heartbreaking ("Livin' a Lovin' Lie") and outrageously earthy ("If the Trailer's Rockin' Don't Come Knockin'")--cuts a wide path, including two reworked numbers: a hot-wired version of "Live Forever" with Big & Rich, who, led by Big Kenny, sail into an evangelistic romp near the end; and an invigorated solo rendition of "Jesus Christ Is Still the King." Shaver has been to hell and back on a pack horse in the last six years--his wife died after a long bout with cancer; his blazingly talented guitarist son, Eddy, died of a drug overdose; and his own health was threatened. But what a comeback, steeped in his faith in the Almighty and his own power of resurrection. The evidence is here in abundance. "Slim Chance and the Can't Hardly Playboys," a vocal collaboration with Kevin Fowler, showcases Shaver's renewed sense of humor, while "Valentine," an affecting duet with Nanci Griffith, does as much as his recent wedding to spotlight his belief in romance as redemption. There's not much to quibble with here, unless you're a grinch who wants to gripe about Shaver's meandering sense of pitch, his way of sometimes circling around a note before he finally lands. But if you are, there's a bonus track here for you--a sprightly accordion-laced version of "Feliz Navidad" with Flaco Jimenez. This is "The Real Deal," all right. And then some. --Alanna Nash

Album Description

It seems like Billy Joe Shaver's experienced everything a musician can--except that he has never self-produced an album. So Shaver hunkered down in a Pedernales, Texas, studio to record 14 out of 16 new tracks for The Real Deal. He explains, "It was great to be able to sing the way I want to sing. I could set up the arrangements how I wanted rather than having to fit someone else's." He was also joined by old and new friends, including the country superstar duo Big & Rich, who co-produced their duet with Shaver on his inspirational masterpiece "Live Forever." According to Big Kenny from the duo, "Shaver is a classic poet and a songsmith...the kind of person you can listen to for hours, with a spirit and soul that grabs your attention." The duet marks the first time the double platinum duo has recorded an outside song. Others who joined Shaver included Nancy Griffith (who sang on the song "Valentine"), Kimmie Rhodes ("West Texas Waltz"), Flaco Jimenez ("Feliz Navidad"), and Kevin Fowler ("Slim Chance and the Can't Hardly Playboys"). The album also contains Shaver's fervent reminder about the power of persistence, "Try and Try Again."

The Real Deal follows the well-received Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver: Live, which featured such friends as Robert Earl Keen, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Guy Clark, Todd Snider, Cory Morrow, Bruce Robison, and Kelly Willis, among others. Shaver is truly one of the most respected living figures in American music today. Johnny Cash called him "my favorite songwriter." (He has written for Cash as well as Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, the Allman Brothers, and Bobby Bare.) The Washington Post noted that "when the country outlaws were collecting their holy writings, Billy Joe Shaver was carving out Exodus."

Customer Reviews:

Great Road Trip music.......2007-06-28

I bought this CD for the "Live Forever" track and wound up loving almost all of the songs. Excellent Ipod music for the airplane and works even better in the car on a long roadtrip. Shaver's lyrics are funny and the music is lively.

country genius........2007-03-26

The Real Deal.......2007-01-09

This is a great C.D. By BIlly Joe Shaver. I like every song on it.

Talent that Really Shines.......2006-10-23

I was introduced to BJS via the Big and Rich song, when I saw the video on CMT. I am embarrassed to say I had not heard of BJS but decided to purchase this CD anyway. Oh My Goodness! This is an awesome CD and has far exceeded my expectations. If you like honky-tonk music, you will not be disappointed. The lyrics are great and the melodies are foot tapping and difficult to forget. I agree with some of the other reviewers-if I could give this CD a "ten" I would.

TB

This man has some BIG Cowboy boots!!!.......2006-07-28

BJS just goes to show that age is just a state of man. Another EXCELLENT cd form the man!! Maybe his best yet!

The songs are sharp. The lyrics are just daggers. The mood they create are stunning. "No Fool Like An Old Fool", "Livin' and Lovin" Lie" and "Just Ain't There For Me" will be classics!! The music and the emotion just make you stop and listen and become one with these songs.

The opener with Big and Rich is a nice step away for BJS. I've heard some complaints. I personally like ""Gonna Live For Ever". Great tune with a cool message. Might bring BJS to the mainstream fame he deserves!

There are even a couple of raunchy-ish songs on this offering. NICE!!!

Really..This is a 10 Star cd.

BJS must have some really BIG Cowboy boots...That much talent has got to have someplace to reside!!

Average customer rating:

An Incredible CD from an Amazing Artist
"Highway Of Life"

Highway of Life
Shaver
Manufacturer: Justice Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

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Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

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The Earth Rolls On
Salt of the Earth
Electric Shaver
Old Five and Dimers Like Me
Tramp on Your Street

ASIN: B000000NRW
Release Date: 2000-01-10

Tracks:

Yesterday Tomorrow Was Today
West Texas Waltz
Highway Of Life
Tomorrow's Goodbye
Blue Blue Blues
Comin' On Strong
You're As Young As The Woman You Feel
Goodbye Yesterday
Moonshine And Indian Blood
Look For Me When You See Me Comin'
The First And Last Time

Customer Reviews:

An Incredible CD from an Amazing Artist.......2007-07-04

I didn't become aware of Billy Joe Shaver's music until about 2 years ago, but when I did, I went out and bought every CD tht I could find. I was lucky enough to find a used copy of Highway of Life then. Since it's been so hard to find, I'm getting another copy to have on hand when that one wears out from being played so often. There are so many outrageously good cuts on here, but I think one of the VERY best is Yesterday Tomorrow Was Today.

"Highway Of Life".......2002-04-18

I'm an old fan of Billy Joe Shaver, born in 1938, and strongly identify with his life experiences. I have a half dozen of his recordings and am surprised at the apparent lack of interest in the "Highway of Life" record - all of the tracks are "5-Star" as far as I'm concerned. This record was hard to come by, and I feel fortunate to have a copy. If you're a big fan of Billy Joe and Eddy Shaver's music, I highly recommend the "Highway Of Life"!

Outlaw Country - Live From Austin Tx (Dig)

Average customer rating:

A Great Live Recording.

Outlaw Country - Live From Austin Tx (Dig)
Willie Nelson , Kris Kristofferson , Waylon Jennings , Billy Joe Shaver , and Kimmie Rhodes
Manufacturer: New West Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Country | Styles | Music
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Live from Austin, Texas
Live from Austin, Texas
Last of the Breed
Outlaw Country: Live From Austin, TX
Songbird

ASIN: B000GBEX1A
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Tracks:

Fighter - Kris Kristofferson
I'd Have Been Out Of Jail - Waylon Jennings
Just One Love - Kimmie Rhodes
First And Last Time - Billy Joe Shaver
We Don't Run - Willie Nelson/Kris Kristofferson
Promise - Kris Kristofferson
I Do Believe - Waylon Jennings
Espiratu Santo Bay - Kimmie Rhodes
You Just Can't Beat Jesus Christ - Billy Joe Shaver
Too Sick To Pray - Willie Nelson
Pilgrim's Progress - Kris Kristofferson
Just Watch Your Mama & Me - Waylon Jennings
Lines - Kimmie Rhodes
On The Road Again - Willie Nelson/Waylon Jennings

Amazon.com

Though the "outlaw" tag is a little tired at this late date, this 1996 recording from the Austin City Limits series (also available on DVD) represents an appealing country tradition, the "guitar pull." Such intimate, informal, round-robin performances, whether in a club or somebody's living room, find songwriters taking turns sharing material, much of it new or previously unrecorded, for their mutual enjoyment. All of the artists gathered on this Austin soundstage (which might as well be their living room) are Texas treasures, and most are national legends. Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson teamed together in the Highwaymen (who frequently performed Nelson's "We Don't Run," which they reprise here). Nelson has long been a champion of Billy Joe Shaver's songwriting, while Jennings recorded an entire album of Shaver's songs. The angel-voiced Kimmie Rhodes sings one duet with Nelson and another song she wrote with Jennings. Acoustic guitars and impromptu harmonies abound, and there's never a setlist. Highlights are as funny as Jennings's "I'd Have Been Out of Jail" (basically a barroom tale leading to the title punch line) and as chilling as Shaver's a cappella "First and Last Time." After Jennings strikes a religious chord with "I Do Believe," Rhodes takes a spiritual turn with "Espiritu Santo Bay," Shaver responds with "You Can't Beat Jesus Christ," Nelson offers "Too Sick to Pray," and Kristofferson previews the then-new "Pilgrim's Progress." The performance ends with the best-known tune, Nelson's "On the Road Again," which becomes a collective celebration of the joys of "making music with my friends." --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews:

A Great Live Recording........2006-10-17

Normaly I Don`t Like "Live" recordings, But This Album Is Something Special. Just The Way The Artists Acts And Performs Is Just Wonderful. Oh I Love This Record...++++++++++++

Average customer rating:

country genius.
freedom child is a hit!!!
One Man's Pain Set to Music........Beyond WORDS.. A Masterpiece
Freedom's Child
Welcome Home

Freedom's Child
Billy Joe Shaver
Manufacturer: Compadre Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Traditional Country | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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The Earth Rolls On
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ASIN: B000075A0N
Release Date: 2002-11-19

Tracks:

Hold On To Yours (And I'll Hold On To Mine)
Freedom's Child
That's Why The Man In Black Sings The Blues
Honey Chile
Good Ol U.S.A.
Day By Day
Corsicana Daily Sun
That's What She Said Last Night
Drinkin' Back
We
Wild Cow Gravy
Deja Blues (W/ Todd Snider)
Magnolia Mother's Love
Merry Christmas To You
Necessary Evil

Amazon.com

Only Billy Joe Shaver could inject salacity into a line like "I went down to Kinko's / To get some faxing done." It's a renaissance that began when his Tramp on Your Street album heralded a dramatic, triumphant return of a long-overlooked pillar of the Outlaw movement. On it, Shaver's creative grit, enhanced by son Eddy's roaring lead guitar, resurged with a vengeance. That consistency held through every subsequent album despite multiple tragedies in recent years: the successive deaths of his mother, wife, and Eddy, and Shaver's own onstage heart attack. Here, accompanied by a first-rate studio band, he rocks with Todd Snider on "Déjà Blues" and waxes patriotic ("Freedom's Child" and a swinging remake of "Good Ol' U.S.A."). "Day by Day" showcases his knowing, evocative storytelling, which carries over to his Johnny Cash homage "That's Why the Man in Black Sings the Blues." As always, each performance has the feel of an ancient field recording or Walker Evans photograph, one more reason Shaver remains a national treasure. --Rich Kienzle

Customer Reviews:

country genius........2007-03-26

freedom child is a hit!!!.......2006-10-29

this cd provided us hours of listening pleasure on a long road trip to nova scotia canada......both my partner and myself became avid fans of every song on the cd.......my dearest wish before i go to the great beyond is to see billy joe shaver live!........i have a friend in austin to visit so perhaps at that time.......what a performer as well as i have seen him live on the don imus show and that is where the love story for me began......my boyfriend is even a little jealous tho he also loves each song......BUY IT!!!

One Man's Pain Set to Music........Beyond WORDS.. A Masterpiece.......2006-09-04

Once again....BJS moves music to places very few others have or can.
The heartbreaking pain in the songs "Day By Day", "Honey Chile" , "We" and "Freedom's Child" are beyond words....The wonderful haunting melodies stick in your head and you really like them....then you start to REALLY listen to the words (and real meanings) and you find yourself realizing that these wonderful melodies are filled with backbreaking pain, lost, mistakes, thing left unspoken, regrets, long gone loved ones and newly ones lost to death....The tears this man must have cried that inspired these jewels is a man who knows the deepest rawest edge of human experience.
The ride is awesome but very very hard when you know the models for each verse.
This cd is a Masterpiece.
Thanks Bill!! I have now heard the FINEST works man can set to music.

Freedom's Child.......2003-03-10

This is a great album. I like all of the song's and it really
showcases a talented song-writer and performer, namely Billy Joe
Shaver. Since I got hooked on the Flatlander's CD recommended by Don Imus on his radio show on WFAN, I just knew that Imus' recommendation for Freedom's Child was must have for me as well.

Welcome Home.......2002-12-14

Welcome home, Billy Joe. It's been too long. There's a maturity in Billy Joe's voice, and more modern instrumentation. That's a good thing! But the roots and essence of this man's music is right up front. I guess I'm one of the few that really didn't appreciate Shaver with a rock background. This is a country singer the way country singers should sound. GREAT recording; keep 'em coming billy Joe.

Album Review:

Album Review

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