JOE ELY "Lord Of The Highway" LP NM/EX WOC 1987

Description

JOE ELY "Lord Of The Highway" LP NM/EX WOC 1987. Ely released five albums (four studio sets and the concert recording Live Shots) on major label MCA Records between 1977 and 1981, gradually modifying his style from country to rock. Ely then parted ways with MCA, and Lord of the Highway, another three years on, finds him with the independent HighTone Records label. Lord of the Highway Review by William Ruhlmann Lord of the Highway, Joe Ely's sixth studio album, is something of a return to form for him, in both qualitative and stylistic senses. Ely released five albums (four studio sets and the concert recording Live Shots) on major label MCA Records between 1977 and 1981, gradually modifying his style from country to rock. 1984's Hi-Res took the transition a step further, as Ely returned to record stores after a three-year break with an album on which synthesizers played a major part, but fans and critics had mixed reactions. Ely then parted ways with MCA, and Lord of the Highway, another three years on, finds him with the independent HighTone Records label. Mitch Watkins, who played those synthesizers on Hi-Res, is still around on keyboards, along with an otherwise all-new backup band (Davis McLarty on drums; Jimmy Pettit on bass; David Grissom on guitar; Bobby Keys on saxophone). But the roots rock sound of Lord of the Highway is much closer to 1981's Musta Notta Gotta Lotta than to Hi-Res. Taking more time to write, Ely makes several excellent additions to his songbook, starting with the shaggy dog Western saga "Me and Billy the Kid" and including "Are You Listenin' Lucky?" The lengthy "Letter to L.A." is musically reminiscent of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want," a connection accentuated by the presence of Keys, a longtime Stones sideman. The concluding "Silver City" seems to be an allegorical cautionary tale about what happens to the dreams of an idealistic young man when he encounters the outside world. As on earlier Ely albums, Butch Hancock provides a couple of strong compositions, the title song, and "Row of Dominoes." In 1981, Ely seemed to be on the verge of stardom. He doesn't anymore, but Lord of the Highway suggests he will still be out on the road playing his powerful music for some time to come. At a transitional time in the record business, Lord of the Highway was released as a ten-track album on LP and cassette, but in order to stimulate sales of the CD format, that version came out simultaneously with an eleventh bonus track, "Screaming Blue Jillions," a rock & roll song set to the Bo Diddley beat and the sort of enjoyable minor number that used to be reserved for the B-sides of singles. Joe Ely – Lord Of The Highway Joe Ely - Lord Of The Highway album cover More images Label: Hightone Records – HT8008, Hightone Records – HIGHTONE 8008 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, Rainbo Press Country: US Released: 1987 Genre: Rock, Folk, World, & Country Style: Blues Rock, Country Rock A1 Lord Of The Highway Written-By – Butch Hancock 3:54 A2 (Don't Put A) Lock On My Heart Written-By – Eddie Beethoven 4:08 A3 Me And Billy The Kid 3:23 A4 Letter To L.A. 8:12 B1 No Rope, Daisy-O 0:40 B2 My Baby Thinks She's French 3:45 B3 Everybody Got Hammered 3:34 B4 Are You Listenin' Lucky? 3:19 B5 Row Of Dominoes Written-By – Butch Hancock 3:37 B6 Silver City 4:31 Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Hightone Records Copyright © – Hightone Records Recorded At – Spur Studios Mixed At – The Fire Station Mixed At – Arlyn Studios Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering Mastered At – Sheffield Lab Matrix – △17073 Mastered At – Allied Record Company Pressed By – Rainbo Records – S-17968 Pressed By – Rainbo Records – S-17969 Published By – Rainlight Music Published By – Eiffel Tower Music Published By – ERE Music Published By – April Music Art Direction – Guy Juke Bass, Harmony Vocals – Jimmy Pettit Drums – Davis McLarty Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Harmony Vocals – David Grissom Engineer [Mixing Engineer] – James Tuttle, Little Johnny Fader Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Little Johnny Fader Keyboards, Guitar, Harmony Vocals, Other [Hammer] – Mitch Watkins Photography By [Back Cover] – Bill Leissner Photography By [Front Cover] – Scott Newton Producer – Joe Ely Producer [Assistant Producer], Arranged By [Additional Arrangements] – David Grissom Saxophone – Bobby Keys Vocals, Percussion, Guitar – Joe Ely Written-By – Joe Ely (tracks: A3 to B4, B6) GOLDMINE GRADING MINT ---- It should appear to be perfect. No scuffs or scratches, blotches or stains, labels or writing, tears or splits. Mint means perfect. NEAR MINT ---- Otherwise mint but has one or two tiny inconsequential flaws that do not affect play. Covers should be close to perfect with minor signs of wear or age just becoming evident: slight ring-wear, minor denting to a corner, or writing on the cover should all be noted properly. VERY GOOD PLUS ---- The record has been handled and played infrequently or very carefully. Not too far from perfect. On a disc, there may be light paper scuffs from sliding in and out of a sleeve or the vinyl or some of the original luster may be lost. A slight scratch that did not affect play would be acceptably VG+ for most collectors. VERY GOOD ---- Record displays visible signs of handling and playing, such as loss of vinyl luster, light surface scratches, groove wear and spindle trails. Some audible surface noise, but should not overwhelm the musical experience. Usually a cover is VG when one or two of these problems are evident: ring wear, seam splits, bent corners, loss of gloss, stains, etc. GOOD ---- Well played with little luster and significant surface noise. Despite defects, record should still play all the way through without skipping. Several cover flaws will be apparent, but should not obliterate the artwork. POOR ---- Any record or cover that does not qualify for the above "Good" grading should be seen as Poor. Several cover flaws.