Are You Ready for the Country
Are You Ready for the Country
Customer Review: Two great seventies albums
The pairing of these two albums appears a little odd but many of Waylon’s seventies albums had already been released on CD. Still, both albums are well worth hearing and Waylon’s fans everywhere will welcome this twofer.
The first album here (Are you ready for the country) was recorded when Waylon was at the peak of the outlaw phase of his career. Apart from the brilliant title track, it features many other outstanding songs including Can’t you see (written by Toy Caldwell of the Marshall Tucker Band), MacArthur Park (an incredible version of this classic song), Couple more years (also recorded by Dr Hook at around the same time), Old friend (about Buddy Holly) and Precious memories (the gospel classic).
The second album (What goes around) was recorded just three years later but by that time Waylon’s sound had changed somewhat. The style may be different but the music is still brilliant. On this album, the first five tracks are generally up-tempo while the second five are generally slower, more reflective. The album opens with I ain’t living long like this (a Rodney Crowell song also recorded by Emmylou) but my favorites here are It’s the world’s gone crazy (the lyrics may seem crazy at first but the song makes sense if you listen to it a few times), Ivory tower and Come with me.
Most of Waylon’s seventies albums are now available on CD. If you are a Waylon fan, make sure that you buy them before they go out of print. This twofer may not be the highest priority among those available but it is certainly deserving of a place in any collection of Waylon’s music.
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