I was a teenage male in the Eighties so, yeah, I knew who the "Hee Haw" honeys were. That said, I started to appreciate the musical acts on the show too; they represented country in a form that was quite better than that what we we'd get later. From the musical genius of host Roy Clark and the aw shucks-skills of co-host Buck Owens, the program always had some band or artist worth checking out. Victoria Hallman was brought on the show around 1980 or so, and she soon joined Buck Owens' band and worked with him in the studio. The resulting album, thought lost, has now been reissued by Omnivore Recordings.
From Birmingham to Bakersfield is a record she recorded with the Buckaroos in 1982 and it's pretty good for this sort of thing. There's nothing here as excellent as those Buck Owens singles collected recently by the label, but the tunes are as good as most mainsream country from the era. Opener "You're My Favorite Song" is a fine showcase for Victoria's clear, strong voice, while "How's Everything" is a decent ballad. The pedal steel from Terry Christofferson gives this one real appeal, while the rollicking "Bottle Up My Tears", a highlight here, owes its power to the piano from Jim Shaw. The rest of the material is fairly standard, though certainly enjoyable. There's a weird juxtaposition, though, from the religious "His Way Alone" to the risque "Sexy Movies" shortly after on the record. I get the sense that this album was an attempt to cover all the bases for Hallman as a singer, and it certainly does cover a lot of styles within the genre.
What makes From Birmingham to Bakersfield essential are the three bonus cuts. Featuring the legendary James Burton on guitar, these 1980 tracks hint at a better record, frankly. "Under the Influence of Love" is a superb honky-tonk number, while a run at Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried" is excellent. Similar to stuff we got from Lone Justice later in the decade, this one swings thanks to drums from Hal Blaine. The three bonus cuts suggest a slightly different direction for Victoria Hallman than what we got on her one album, and they make From Birmingham to Bakersfield a really valuable addition for fans of Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and those within their orbit.
From Birmingham to Bakersfield is out now via Omnivore Recordings.
[Photo: Omnivore Recordings.