Billy Joe Shaver - Tramp on Your Street

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Free Music Notes for Tramp on Your Street

Free Music Review: 5+ Stars for a Living Legend!
Hit: 5 Stars

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.

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