Search - Shaver :: Earth Rolls on

It's Not Over Till It's Over...

M. Nichols | West Chester, OH United States | 04/13/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"and as the man sings, "it aint over yet."

Despite a lifetime of tragedies, the most recent being Eddy Shaver's death on New Year's Eve 2000, Shaver continues to produce some of today's finest music, country or otherwise. THE EARTH ROLLS ON, the latest and last release by the father and son team is a full band recording with fourteen Shaver originals, none of which can be classified as filler. The band is excellent with Wilco's Ken Coomer and Jay Bennett present on most tracks. Eddy's guitar finally has room to shine between the lyrics - "Evergreen Fields" in particular reveals what a talent was lost. There are no instant "classics" (such as the re-worked "Georgia on a Fast Train" from 1993's TRAMP ON YOUR STREET); it's an album chock-full of straightforward songwriting with little reliance on hooks. But if one were forced to pick a standout from the standouts, "Love is So Sweet" and "It's Not Over Till It's Over" would be in the running.

Among the complete Shaver discography, THE EARTH ROLLS ON is most comparable to 1996's HIGHWAY OF LIFE in its complexity, especially when compared to its stripped-down predecessors, the spare, spiritual VICTORY (1998) and raw and raucous ELECTRIC SHAVER (1999).

An absolute must-have for Shaver fans and a should-buy for anyone else who still cares about the integrity of country music and top-notch songwriting in general. Here's hoping that Billy Joe finds the strength to carry on."

A hard-won masterwork

Rob Damm | 06/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an album about survival, about staring the grim reaper in maw and flipping him the bird. Seriously, though, the testament to the toughness of this record is the upbeat first tune "love is so sweet" in which the singer meditates on a hard and traveling life and comes away with the most important bit of wisdom being "Love is so sweet/It makes you bounce as you walk down the street". "evergreen fields" is simply gorgeous-- sripped-bare rumination on mortality and being without roots ("no harvest awaits me"). There are plenty of upbeat tunes, and the album generally chugs along with the sound and fury of a runaway locomotive. The late Eddy Shaver's searing guitar licks sound like one man's personal sonic war against his demons. He bottom-feeds from the blues and soars into uncharted country territory. Eddy, we hardly knew ye... My favorite track is the stubbornly unsentimental "I don't seem to fit anywhere" wherein the singer grapples with his own nomadic existence. All together, a stunning and defiant masterpiece of the first order, and probably the greatest record any of the Shavers has yet produced."

I wish everybody could hear this

Andy Agree | Omaha, NE | 04/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have a sinking feeling that this CD is not for everybody, but I like it so much I wish it could be. This is a mixed up stew of hard rock and outlaw-country, almost as if Waylon Jennings had recorded with Lynyrd Skynyrd. But Shaver stands apart, and this is no 70s throwback. "The Earth Rolls On" is also a father-son melding of Jennings-generation singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver and his rock guitarist son. (In fact, Waylon recorded many songs by Billy Joe.) This is also an album marked by two tragedies. Billy Joe's wife (Eddie's mother) died shortly before the album was made - a fact that influenced at least two songs on the album, the title song "The Earth Rolls On" (#14) and "Blood is Thicker Than Water" (#8). The latter song, sung by both men, is primarily about the father-son relationship (in both the earthly and Christian senses). Then tragedy struck again - Eddie died before the album was released. (I'm not sure how - neither the liner notes nor the web site say). Listening to Eddies' solos on two of the best songs here, "Evergreen Fields" (#2) and "The Earth Rolls On" (#14), one gets the sense he went out in flames (figuratively speaking). My other favorite is "Love is So Sweet" (#1). If you've never heard Billy Joe Shaver before (as I hadn't), he introduces himself in the opening lines of this first song, an upbeat rocker: "I've been around for a long time, Mister, I've got a thing or two to say...I've been a drifter and a low-life loser, you could learn a lot from me...Love is So Sweet, it makes you bounce when you walk down the street." You may react, as I did, with an instant "I like this guy!""