Honky Tonk Heroes [Remaster] (CD - 1973)

Personnel: Waylon Jennings (vocals, guitar); Waylon Jennings; Reggie Young (guitar, electric guitar); Larry Whitmore, Dave Kirby, Billy Ray Reynolds (guitar); Sheldon Kurland, Lennie Haight, Steven Maxwell Smith, Lawrence Herzberg (violin); Tommy Williams (fiddle); Martha McCrory (cello); Don Brooks, Donnie Brooks (harmonica); Kyle Lehning (trumpet, keyboards); Andrew McMahon (organ); Henry Strzelecki, Joe Allen, Bee Spears (bass instrument); William Paul Ackerman, Will Ackerman, Willie Ackerman, Buddy Harmon (drums); Jerry Gropp (vocals, guitar); Billy Sanford, Dale Sellers (guitar, electric guitar); Ralph Mooney (guitar, steel guitar); Ritchie Albright (guitar, drums); Eddie Hinton, Randy Scruggs, Steve Young (guitar); Brenton Banks, Stephanie Woolf (violin); Marvin Chantry (viola); Byron Bach (cello); David Briggs (piano); Andy McMahon (organ); Buddy Harman (drums).

Liner Note Author: Rich Kienzle.

Recording information: RCA's "Nashville Sound" Studio, Nashville, TN.

Author: Waylon Jennings.

Unknown Contributor Role: Tommy Williams .

Arranger: Glen Spreen.

When Waylon Jennings hooked up with songwriter Billy Joe Shaver, he found the perfect author for his obsessions, his fascinations, and his very image. Waylon had always been looking, perhaps unintentionally, for a common ground between country and rock, and Shaver's songs -- sketching an outlaw stance with near defiance and borrowing rock attitude to create the hardest country tunes imaginable -- were perfect. On his previous album, Waylon had sung that "ladies love outlaws," but now he found the music that would soon be called outlaw country, a defiant, ballsy blend of mythmaking and truth-telling. Shaver never had a better voice for his songs, and Jennings never had better songs for his style. Honky Tonk Heroes arrived at a crucial moment, a time when true honky tonk was fading, so only a dose of rock & roll could save it. And, no matter how much rock attitude is here, this is pure country in its stance and attitude -- yet Honky Tonk Heroes' very defiance makes it a perfect discovery album for listeners who never thought they would like country music. And the songs! Shaver earned his stripes here, with songs that were emotional, funny, and clever, utterly bringing the mythic outlaw ethic to life. "Black Rose," "You Asked Me To," and "Honky Tonk Heroes" remain among the greatest things Waylon ever cut, and every other song here matches them. Few country albums have ever been this consistent, and few records, from any genre, have been as consistently compelling. A wonderful album -- one that's hard to tire of. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

This is the quintessential "Outlaw country" album. Waylon Jennings spent the early '70s working his way up to this rough-and-tumble masterpiece, arguably the finest album of his prolific career. Jennings was so taken with the songwriting of Nashville rowdy Billy Joe Shaver that he decided to record this all-Shaver album (with the exception of the Fritts/Seals-penned "You Asked Me To"), which helped put Shaver on the map as the poet laureate of the Outlaw set.

Jennings eschewed the lush countrypolitan sound in favor of a raw, electrified approach that owed more to the Rolling Stones than to Billy Sherrill. With a small band and simple arrangements, he introduced contemporary rock-oriented beats into his hard-hitting country sound, adding some funky grit to Shaver's common-man poetics on tunes about the tougher side of life. HONKY TONK HEROES inspired a subsequent generation of country iconoclasts, as well as spurring on Jennings's contemporaries like Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser. It stands as one of the most important country recordings of the '70s. minimize