This delightful tune might be the sexiest trucking song ever (give or take Garth's "Callin' Baton Rouge"), if it weren't so goofy. And it's not just me--after the song played on Rick Jackson's Country Hall of Fame yesterday--and after Lea and I finally figured out what it was about--Rick Jackson himself practically collapsed into giggles talking about it. He could barely get a word out! Your results may vary, but here you go:
What else? The sax solo reminds me of something off Paul Simon's Graceland, weirdly enough--maybe it's just the timbre. This song is NOT on the album pictured above, but Bear Family's still a great label, so how could you go wrong? And it occurs to me that "Bull/Beaver" may also be the sexiest jargon song (which I'm thinking of redubbing "shoptalk songs") ever, not that there's a lot of competition on that front (unless you read "Strawberry Roan" WAY differently than I do). I mean, you gotta love that Merle ACTUALLY SINGS this verse:
"Well, it won't be hard to back it,
Babe, I'm right behind you--
Just put them air brakes on and let 'er slide!"
Ah, romance.
2 comments:
When this song came out, I was a kid and thus had no clue about all the sexiness I was hearing. Sure sounds different now. Thanks for bringing this one back onto my radar.
Unrelated note #1: The only time I saw Merle, his opening act was Leona, and the entire show was done by 9:00. The people in San Angelo Colosseum were very unhappy.
Unrelated note #2: Garth's version of "Callin' Baton Rouge" is inferior to the original by New Grass Revival.
Now that I am old, finishing a show by 9pm sounds ideal. We went to Lorde in March and she didn't go much later than that, it was great.
I keep thinking I should listen to New Grass Revival. For one thing, Eric Church shouted them out on his last album. And then on Record Store Day I saw them in the local "prog" section, which should really be renamed the "record store geek" section because it also contained stuff like Pentangle and I forget what else. Other weird British folk and psych, I think. But anyway, I looked up their "Callin' Baton Rouge," and man, Garth copied it pretty slavishly -- his version's just amped up in a way that screams "Garth!", similar to his version of "Shameless." Your recommendation might push me over the edge.
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