The myth of the American West--lawless lands, resolute heroes--takes on a grave, elegiac quality on this first, and best, collaboration from Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson. There's little bravado here, just a sense of ticking time, of frontiers lost, cowboys singing their last songs. In the end,
Highwayman works because it fuses mythic, serious material with the artists' own legendary personas and well-aged voices. Lesser lights would be lucky to muddle through Jimmy Webb's epic title track; these four cagey desperados make every fantastic image believable. If Chips Moman surrounds them with less than subtle layers of guitars, keyboards, and drums, he does update vintage progressive country in a suitably cosmic but rugged fashion. Romantic legends and production values notwithstanding, it's the tough, wise singing here that's the! real draw.
--Roy Kasten Here are 36 highlights from all three albums by country's greatest supergroup! Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson unite for the hits Highwayman; Desperados Waiting for a Train , and Silver Stallion ; inspired spins on Take It to the Limit; Sunday Morning Coming Down; Luckenbach, Texas; Me and Bobby McGee; Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys; Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way , and more.Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash are icons, legends and outlaws of country music, When they untied they became the super group the Highwaymen, a concept that allowed 4 lifelong friends the chance to sing, work and tour together. This 10th anniversary that was produced by Don Was will feature a never before heard song, 'If He Came Back Again' and five unreleased demo's. Capitol. 2005.Don Was, the producer who transformed Bonnie Raitt from cult hero to pop star, tried to jump-start ! the stalled careers of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings by pr! oducing their recent albums,
Across the Borderline and
Waymore's Blues (Part II), respectively. This resulted in two artistic triumphs but no hits. That didn't deter Nelson and Jennings from hiring Was to produce their album with Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson as the Highwaymen.
The Road Goes on Forever is easily the best of the three Highwaymen albums, even if changing radio tastes will probably doom it to the poorest sales of the three. The two earlier releases, 1985's
Highwaymen and 1990's
Highwaymen 2, were thrown together as if the sheer star power of the four singers could carry the project. Both albums had their exciting moments when everything clicked but both also had a lot of filler. By contrast, Was approached the new recording as if every song and every arrangement had to be good enough to be a single. He picked one obscure but terrific composition from each of the four singers and supplemented them with equally strong material from! four of Texas's best songwriters--Steve Earle, Billy Joe Shaver, Robert Earl Keen Jr., and Stephen Bruton. Nelson's harmonica ace Mickey Raphael and Kristofferson's singing buddy Billy Swan are joined by top L.A. session pros like keyboardist Benmont Tench and drummer Kenny Aronoff to create a sound that has the twangy picking of old-fashioned country and the fat bottom of modern pop. The result is an album with everything: first-rate material, grade-A playing, and inimitable singing. The thread that ties Nelson, Jennings, Cash, and Kristofferson together is the crustiness of their voices (a honey-voiced singer like George Jones or Don Gibson would seem out of place in this crowd); when they sing Shaver's "(I'm Going To) Live Forever," they sound as if they're more than halfway there. The Highwaymen are so naturally hard-bitten and world-weary that they can slip a little sentiment into a song without spoiling it. They use this to great advantage on the album's two great ou! tlaw songs, Earle's "The Devil's Right Hand" and Keen's title ! tune; th e gruff tales of violence lead up to a sobering admission of the price paid for such a life. That same gruffness allows the Highwaymen to sing two religious meditations, Jennings's "I Do Believe" and Cash's "Death and Hell," without once sounding sanctimonious.
--Geoffrey HimesA man sets out to avenge the death of his wife by tracking down her murderer - a serial killer who hunts and kills women using his '72 El Dorado.
DVD Features:
Other:DTS Sound Widescreen (2.35.1) and Fullscreen versions available on one disc
Theatrical Trailer
11 tracks on the Cd. UPC 074644524024The myth of the American West--lawless lands, resolute heroes--takes on a grave, elegiac quality on this first, and best, collaboration from Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson. There's little bravado here, just a sense of ticking time, of frontiers lost, cowboys singing their last songs. In the end,
Highwayman works because it f! uses mythic, serious material with the artists' own legendary personas and well-aged voices. Lesser lights would be lucky to muddle through Jimmy Webb's epic title track; these four cagey desperados make every fantastic image believable. If Chips Moman surrounds them with less than subtle layers of guitars, keyboards, and drums, he does update vintage progressive country in a suitably cosmic but rugged fashion. Romantic legends and production values notwithstanding, it's the tough, wise singing here that's the real draw.
--Roy Kasten 
0 comments: