Down On the Drag/Live Shots

by Joe Ely

Overview

Great Britain's stellar reissue label Beat Goes On does an excellent job on this grand two-fer featuring thoroughly remastered versions of two of Joe Ely's finest offerings. The first half, 1979's Down On the Drag, was among Ely's most underrated at the time, but remains among the most enduring in his catalog. There are four stellar Butch Hancock numbers, including "Standing at the Big Hotel," "Fools Fall in Love," and the title track. The set also includes some Ely gems, as well, in "Crazy Lemon," "She Leaves You Where You Are," and "Maria." The latter album in this set is one of the finest live records to ever come out of Texas -- perhaps because it was recorded in England while Ely and the band were on tour opening for the Clash in 1979. He had something to prove to the punters, and he dealt it hot, hard, and fast. From the Jerry Lee Lewis-esque opener "Fingernails" and the swaggering rockabilly of "Annie's Been Workin On the Midnight Shift" to the hard Texas country of "Honky Tonk Masquerade," a rockin' cover of Hank Williams' "Honky Tonkin'," and brilliant revisions of Hancock's "Boxcars" and "She Never Spoke Spanish to Me," it's all killer no filler. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	09/01/2009
Label:	Beat Goes On
UPC:	5017261208989
Rank:	124049

Tracks

1. Fools Fall in Love
2. B.B.Q. & Foam
3. Standin' at the Big Hotel
4. Crazy Lemon
5. Crawdad Train
6. In Another World
7. She Leaves You Where You Are
8. Down on the Drag
9. Time for Travelin'
10. Maria
11. Fingernails
12. Midnight Shift
13. Honky Tonk Masquerade
14. Honky Tonkin'
15. Long Snake Moon
16. I Had My Hopes Up High
17. She Never Spoke Spanish to Me
18. Johnny's Blues
19. Fools Fall in Love
20. Boxcars

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Joe Ely   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Electric)
Lloyd Maines   Guitar (Steel),Guitar (Rhythm),Vocals (Background),Pedal Steel,Slide Guitar
Ponty Bone   Accordion
Jesse Taylor   Guitar (Electric)
Mick Gallagher   Keyboards
Reese Wynans   Keyboards
Steve Keeton   Drums,Drums
Robert Marquam   Drums
Carlene Carter   Vocals
Ed Vizard   Saxophone
Gregg Wright   Bass,Vocals (Background)
Peter West   Bass (Vocal)
Richard Bowden   Fiddle

Technical Credits

Butch Hancock   Composer
Greg Klinginsmith   Assistant Engineer
Earl Lee   Composer
Jimmie Ainsworth   Composer
Bob Johnston   Producer
Chet Himes   Engineer
John Tobler   Liner Notes
Earl Bud Lee   Composer
Joe Ely   Arranger,Composer,Adaptation
Ed Vizard   Composer
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Andrew Thompson   Remastering
Jim Shea   Photography
Guy Juke   Design,Graphic Design
Pete Vernon   Photography
Norman Moore   Design,Art Direction
Traditional   Composer