Search - Jerry Jeff Walker :: Lone Wolf: Best of the Elektra Sessions

Finally!!!

03/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having been a Tried and True Warrior (JJW Fan Club Member) for 12+ years, I have had the opportunity to collect everything he has ever put out. This collection brings together some of the "lost treasures" that until now could only be found at a specialty store... on vinyl. Walker is one of the few who can move from one extreme to the other without losing touch with the listener. The tempo builds through Her Good Loving Grace, then gently slips to the irreverance of Northeast Texas Women before settling into Comfort and Crazy (one of the most beautiful love songs ever written), and culminates with a rousing rendition of Ain't Livin Long Like This. This collection tugs at the heart and raps on the funnybone while keeping a straight face. THAT is what music should be about."

Jerry Jeff's Excellent Elektra Recordings Are Finally Here

08/13/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The songs included on "Lone Wolf" were compiled from two of Jerry Jeff Walker's late 1970's Elektra albums, "Jerry Jeff (Red, White & Blue Album)" and "Too Old To Change." Most people associate Walker with his bawdy "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mothers" and wistful "Mr. Bojangles." These Elektra songs are less well known but express a great range of emotion and reveal Walker's exceptional ability to embrace a variety of musical styles and make them his own.Songwriter Mike Reid's elegaic "Eastern Avenue River Railway Blues" is rendered by Walker with a sense of mystery, sadness and dark-thirty humor, using a beautifully recorded piano line as its backbone, and showing off some pretty sexy sax; Rodney Crowell's rocking ode to self destruction, "I Ain't Livin' Long Like This," seems to have been written for Bobby Rambo's howling guitar and Walker's gutteral, growling, incoherent vocals -- which! are also displayed in force on the title track "Lone Wolf," the macho strut of "Bad News," and the somewhat crass, dated and simplistic "Boogie Mama." Country fans will enjoy the easy swing of "Northeast Texas Women," while "Her Good Lovin' Grace" is delivered with a bit of Caribbean spice. Many people have recorded Billy Callery's "Hands On the Wheel," including Willie Nelson, but none have ever matched Walker's sadness and loneliness as he renders the heartbreaking lyrics against the sparse musical canvas of a thumb-strummed electric.Other songs successfully demonstrate Walker's ability to croon a sweet love song ("Comfort and Crazy"), goof off and try to shock like a silly kid ("I'm Not Strange"), or dream of distant lands ("Mountains of Mexico") in a gentle way. Without a doubt, the most exceptional accomplishment on this CD is Walker's stunning paean to aging without grace, &qu! ot;Too Old To Change."It's a shame that Elektra has! n't released Walker's work on CD, for it's some of his best -- but at least these glimpses into the hearts of those two fine pieces of work are finally available for Walker's fans -- and the curious newcomers alike."