Country Outlaw at his Best records

Rip It Up, Issue 10, 1 April 1978, Page 17

Country Outlaw at his Best records

Waylon Jennings The Best of Waylon Jennings R.CA. Waylon Jennings is one of the bad-men of C & W. Like collaborator and friend Willie Nelson, Jennings spent his youth learning and playing country styles, rising to eminence as a Nashville songwriting regular. Similarly like Nelson, Waylon Jennings

became disenchanted with the levelling slicknSss of country capital style and broke ties with mother Nashville. The result was the so called "outlaw" country movement which turned its back upon the two dollar cigar and rhinestone suit image. As Jennings put it in his 1976 U.S. chart hit: Somebody told me when I came to Nashvjlle, Son you’ve finally got it made, Old ’Hank made'it ' here, We’re all sure you will - But I don't think Hank done it this way. . The Best of Waylon Jennings, an Australian RCA compilation, gives a fair indcationfofithe direction that this singer and writer has preferred. The selection conveys the rugged, live feel that Jennings champions. Some tracks ("Good Hearted Woman", with Willie Nelson; and "Bob Wills is still the King") are concert recordings. But even the studio takes have a rawness and natural echo that give them the loose charm of basement recording. Listeners unfamiliar with Jennings may be particularly surprised by tougher than usual renditions of standards like "Suspicious Minds” and "Me and Bobby McGee". Jennings’ deep, bruised voice and his chunky arrangements put tired songs back into shape.. Just perhaps, with the vent of this newwave, back-to-basics fad, the timing of this release may mean that Waylon Jennings will be more acceptable to public taste here than ever before. Bruce Belsham

Libby Titus CBS There was a time when Libby Titus was merely a small pocket of expressive esoterica in the vast panorama of American rock music. Lillian Roxon characterised her as "one third ingenue, one third socialite, one third hippie, with a head full of Medusa hair, like a thousand snakes". She made one album on Hot Biscuit label in the late sixties, and her appearances were subsequently limited to guest stints on albums by the likes of Martin Mull. A friendship with Robbie Robertson of

The Band led to more self-confidence in her own writing, and with Eric Kaz she wrote that lovely song "Love Has No Pride” which was subsequently recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt and Tracy Nelson. Libby includes it on her first C.B.S. album, although after Bonnie Raitt’s recording of the song, all others seem unnecessary. Libby’s reading of Cole Porter’s "Miss Otis Regrets” somehow doesn’t click with me either, but it is always good to see people putting these songs before a new audience. One highlight is the lovely "Yellow Beach Umbrella" by the great writing team of Judy Henske and Craig Doerge (what ever happened to Judy Henske?). Another is "Darkness ’til Dawn" a Carly Simon song in which James Taylor and Carly Simon assist with backing vocals. Two new Libby Titus compositions "Fool That I Am” (co-written with Hirth Martinez) show her as an accomplished songwriter. I hope this album makes an impact. Libby Titus is a lady of musical discretion and, she could prove quite a force in the musical scene. William Dart

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