Roger Clyne - Live at Billy Bob's Texas - Music & Performance - CD

Much in the same way that Atlantic used to send its new signings to Muscle Shoals to record at Rick Hall's Fame Studios in the late '60s, the country renaissance label Smith Entertainment tends to send its new signings to the famed country bar Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth for live albums. The first Smith release by Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers is another in the series, and it bodes well for the label's association with the Arizona-based singer/songwriter. Clyne is the former leader of the Refreshments, whose slyly hilarious semi-hit "Banditos" is given a spirited run-through early in the set; the other song people remember them for, the manic instrumental theme for the Texas-based sitcom King of the Hill, is trotted out for an encore. In between, Clyne shows that his new band is basically the same as his old: a smart-alecky blend of power pop and country-rock in the tradition of Nick Lowe, Ray Mason, and Walter Clevenger, with puckish songs like "Blue Collar Suicide" and "Bury My Heart at the Trailer Park" that simultaneously celebrate and send up their main characters. This live set is an excellent career overview for fans and a terrific way to get acquainted for newcomers, not least because the loose, rough-edged sound is terrific, much more suited to the songs than the thin, low-budget sound of some of Clyne's studio albums. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi