Search - Robert Earl Keen Jr. :: Live Album

This album captures Robert Earl Keen, Jr. at his finest.

08/23/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Robert Earl Keen, Jr. seems to have been lost among the manygreat Texas songwriters of the last 20 years. Though his songs havebeen recorded by Nanci Griffith, Joe Ely, and Lyle Lovett, he remains a rather unknown outside of the bar circuit in Texas. His musical career started when he and Lyle Lovett were sharing a house in College Station, TX, and the feel of that time is present in this collection of songs.Though this album is his oldest I have found, he was far from just starting out when it was recorded. His song introductions are stories in themselves, and bring to the music a setting that only a true Texas artist can. The songs on this album showcase his entire range from the humorous in "Copenhagen", and serious as in "I would Change My Life" (later recorded by Nanci Griffith), to the absurd as in "The Blue Grass Widow." If you are not familiar with Robert Earl Keen, Jr., this disc is a great introduction to his songwriting and perfoming abilities, and if you are already a fan, you must have this one."

Buy 2 copies, because one's gonna get worn out.

J. Hamlin | Dallas, TX | 02/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Robert Earl Keen, Jr...a a staple of Aggie life, and one of the sure bets for music lovers that don't like to be spoon-fed - this album never gets old. Grab a beer, sit outside, and hit play. Whether it's College Station anthem [and Dixie Chicken favorite, for that matter] "The Front Porch Song," hard-driving "Goin' Down in Style," or plaintive "I Would Change My Life," Keen's second album ["No Kinda Dancer" was the first in 1984] is a solid effort, and a great ride. The best way to hear Keen is live, as any fan can tell you, and his trademark storytelling is mixed throughout. This is the sort of album that causes a michievous grin to creep across your mouth just as sure as it entices you to barrel down dirty Texas backroads singing along at the top of your lungs. Robert Earl has a voice anyone can join in with, and it's only a matter of time til you do. His albums are like the bars that have the sense to play them - a close-gaurded secret and a guilty pleasure. Maybe the only reason he hasn't gone the more commercialized route of some of his compatriots is that we're keeping him to ourselves.Here's to Robert Earl, and confusion to foreign tyrants."

Confusing for Texans

Bob Saar | Burlington, IA United States | 05/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Keen is from the A&M area of Brenham. I'm from Iowa. I gigged with a Houston band last January, including a bar in Brenham.I suggested we do "Road" or "Gringo" or "Sonora" or any of Keen's stuff. The band sneered.Some Texan musicians are just plain jealous of this guy's writing. They should be. This album is a great place to start finding out why."