From the Vault...

06/13/1999
#633

info
Jennings, Nelson, Cash, Kristofferson
"Highwayman"


© Columbia Records

Year of Release: 985<
Rating:

track listing
  • Highwayman
  • The Last Cowboy Song
  • Jim I Wore A Tie Today
  • Big River
  • Committed To Parkview
  • Desperados Waiting
    For A Train
  • Deportee (Plane Wreck At
    Los Gatos)
  • Welfare Line
  • Against The Wind
  • The Twentieth Century
    Is Almost Over

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    Jennings, Nelson, Cash, Kristofferson related sites:
    Jennings, Nelson, Cash, Kristofferson Website
    Wikipedia
    Previous Review: #632
    Savoy Brown--Raw Sienna
    Next Review: #634
    The James Gang--James Gang Rides Again
    Jennings, Nelson, Cash, Kristofferson
    "Highwayman"



    One of the greatest projects in popular music is merging two or more well-known performers into one group. Some examples: Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and Paul Rodgers (Bad Company): Put them together with other musicians, and you have THE FIRM. Another great combo: Jeff Lynn (Electric Light Orchestra), George Harrison (The Beatles), Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison: Put them together and you have THE TRAVELING WILBURYS.


    In country music, we have four great singers, forming THE HIGHWAYMEN: Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson. All four of these singers are great in their own country right. It's just great to merge these talented singers together for an album, in which they were credited as Jennings, Nelson, Cash, Kristofferson. They would be known (to you and I) as The Highwaymen. (Let it not be confused with the unreleated 1960s group of the same name, who had a #1 hit, "Michael.") J,N,C,K released five albums as of 1995; Their 1985 Highwayman, is their first album together.


    "Highwayman" is a great song, having a sound similar to Johnny Cash's "Ghost Riders In The Sky". "The Last Cowboy Song" has a "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" feel. All four singers are vocalizing on these two songs.


    Like "Highwayman," all four singers sing the following tunes: "Big River", a good honky-tonker. "Desperados Waiting For A Train" is a slow country ballad, as in Lee Greenwood's "God Bless The USA". "Welfare Line" is a cool country song, having a medium-sized honky-tonk sound.


    Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson provide the vocals for "Jim, I Wore A Tie Today," a ballad in the common country sound. (Country singers wearing a business tie? NOT!) Another Cash & Nelson tune in the same style as the "Tie" song, "Committed To Parkview" has a Steve Goodman storytelling atmosphere, and it is a definite Country ballad. "The Twentieth Century Is Almost Over" has a fine, bouncy country feel, as Willie and Johnny provide their fine vocals. It could also pass as a gospel sounding sound, as this type of music is one of Johnny Cash's favorites.


    Cash & Nelson, along with Johnny Rodriguez, vocalize on "Deportee (Plane Wreck At Los Gatos)", a common Willie-type ballad, as heard on Nelson's Red Headed Stranger album. "Against The Wind" is a Bob Seger remake, featuring Jennings, Nelson and Cash. Honestly, Seger's version is better, as The Highwaymen's version could of been a bit better. This is the only song that is the least to listen to.


    Highwayman is a fine, fine album for the "old-fashioned" country admirer. The sound on this album is hardly featured in today's common country, as Jennings, Nelson, Cash & Kristofferson truly defines what the country sound truly is. Compare their music to common country artists today, like Garth Brooks, and Shania Twain, it's different. It's all country, but like other sources of music, styles change, but in the end, it's still the same classification it was originally labelled: Country.


    So, if you're into the 'ol Outlaw Country, and you enjoy J,N,C,K's music, then Highwayman will not be a disappointment. It's a fine album, and has the country sound of yesteryear.


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    Previous Review: #632
    Savoy Brown--Raw Sienna
    Next Review: #634
    The James Gang--James Gang Rides Again