BILLY JOE SHAVER

Live at Billy Bob’s Texas

[Smith Music Group]

This live CD/DVD, Shaver’s first release since 2007, thoroughly reaffirms his outlaw credentials. His best-known songs—“I’ve Been to Georgia on a Fast Train,” “Honky Tonk Heroes” and “Old Five and Dimers Like Me”—speak convincingly of his roughneck lifestyle, while “Wacko From Waco,” one of the two new tunes, addresses the infamous 2007 shooting incident that landed him on trial in Texas. (He was ultimately acquitted.) The song exemplifies prime Shaver—an ornery cuss who’s “best not to mess with.” On occasion, his political incorrectness goes too far, as with the juvenile jokes on the entendre-overloaded “That’s What She Said Last Night,” but there’s another side—one softened by life’s tragedies. Shaver shows this side in tenderly heartfelt tunes like “Star in My Heart” and “I Couldn’t Be Me Without You.” Both the CD and DVD—which offers some additional stage banter and interview testimonials from Willie Nelson and Pat Green—provide an engaging portrait of an unvarnished, uncompromising American original. –Michael Berick

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