The folks at Omnivore Recordings have been doing extraordinary work for a long time now. In the last couple of years they've sort of cornered the market on Buck Owens reissues. While I don't cover a lot of country on this site, I grew up hearing my grandparents play this kind of stuff, and hearing firsthand stories from family about seeing country greats live in the greater D.C. area. So sometimes, this kind of thing hits just right.
The Exciting Sounds of Buck Owens And His Buckaroos Live From Richmond, Virgina, 1964, out now on vinyl only, presents a full concert as a reminder of just how much energy and heart Owens and his crew could bring to a rapt audience. This vinyl-only release finds Owens at the top of his game, with a bunch of guys backing him up at full power. From the easy swing of "Act Naturally", through a peppy version of "Love's Gonna Live Here", and to a brief-but-mournful run at "Together Again", the hits keep coming. Buck and his boys waste no time delivering these gems to a crowd that's clearly full of fans.
The product of the recent discovery of a tape marked simply "Buck Owens, live 1964", The Exciting Sounds of Buck Owens And His Buckaroos Live From Richmond, Virgina, 1964 feels like a real record from the era. The clean, crisp sound places you front-and-center in the action as the Buckaroos -- Doyle Holly (bass), Willie Cantu (drums), Tom Brumley (guitar), and Don Rich (guitar, fiddle) -- crank out hit after hit behind Buck's winsome vocals. A real highlight for me was "Close Up the Honky Tonks", a cut where it seems as Owens and Rich are harmonizing right across the room. The sound is warm and the mid-tempo gem is proof of the natural ease with which Buck could put his personal stamp on songs not quite as peppy as the obvious hits he was known for. So, this record is highly recommended if you want to hear the real sound of Buck Owens and His Buckaroos at the absolute peak of their game.
The Exciting Sounds of Buck Owens And His Buckaroos Live From Richmond, Virgina, 1964 is out now via Omnivore Recordings.
[Photo: Omnivore Recordings]