Fine set of live archive recordings from the King of Bakersfield.
“Adios, Farewell, Goodbye, Good Luck, So Long: On Stage 1964-1974” is a 3-CD set of live recordings by Buck Owens and his Buckaroos stretching from 1964 to 1974 and geographically from the United States to the Antipodes.
Omnivore, the Los Angeles-based specialist archive and reissue label, has compiled several of Owens’ live recordings, both ones released officially and previously unheard. The set includes 78 live performances, 75 of which appear on CD for the first time, plus 25 previously unissued tracks in the US, and 20 more previously unissued anywhere in the world. The packaging contains a 56-page book featuring photos and an extensive essay from Grammy-nominated writer/producer Scott B. Bomar.
The first show in the set is a recently discovered recording of a concert at The Bellevue Theater in Richmond, Virginia, on 14th September 1964. The recording seems to have been made by an audience member and only came into possession of the Buck Owens Foundation relatively recently. However, it came about that the sound is excellent, and the Buckaroos, who for this show comprised Don Rich, Doyle Holley, Tom Brumley and Willie Cantu, are on top form. Packed with Owens classics, the listener will find themselves singing along from the get-go.
Roll forward to May 1967, and Owens and his Buckaroos are playing a show at Macy’s in New York. Holley is gone and replaced by Wayne Wilson. The show was recorded for a radio broadcast, which seems to be the source for the recording here. It definitely has quality and tape speed issues. The performance is a bit looser but still a lot of fun.
In 1969, Owens released a live album, “Live in Vegas”, and the first nine tracks from CD2 are from the show where the album was recorded at the Bonanza Hotel, Las Vegas. Ever the pro, the set kicks off with ‘Big In Vegas’ and ‘Las Vegas Lament’. The last two songs are a rare take on the Coasters ‘Along Came Jones’ and ‘Let The Good Times Roll’. The Buckaroos in Las Vegas are Rich, Holley, Jerry Wiggins and Jay Dee Manness (of “Sweetheart Of The Rodeo” and International Submarine Band fame). The band is back in Nevada in 1971 for “Live From The Nugget”, recorded at the Nugget Casino Hotel Resort in Reno. Back that is, except for Holley (who left again) and Manness (fired). Owens brings in Doyle Singer, Ronnie Jackson and Jim Shaw. The ‘Las Vegas Lament’ is now the ‘Nugget Lament’, and Owens has added Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B Goode’ to the set list. He got a lot of flak for this from the country music establishment, but stuck to his guns. The Nugget recording also includes a duet with Susan Raye on ‘We’re Gonna Get Together’ and highlights recent hits ‘Ruby’ and ‘Rolling In My Sweet Baby’s Arms’. The remainder of CD2 comprises archive recordings from the 1973 Buck Owens charity Golf Tournament and a benefit for Toys for Tots.
The third disc is made up of recordings from the band’s international tour in 1974 with songs recorded in Japan (Tokyo’s Nakano Sun Plaza), Australia (Sydney Opera House), and New Zealand (Christchurch Town Hall). Although these recordings were previously released separately, here they are compiled into a tour best-of. The band has been supplemented with Jerry Brightman on pedal steel (who also played on the 1973 recordings, having joined the Buckaroos as a teenager).
The performances are of a high standard throughout, and as with many of the other recordings on this set, will have you singing along happily. Special mention for Owens and Raye’s ‘Jackson’. The booklet reveals that Raye was a bigger star in New Zealand than Owens, and when sales were slow, the promoter inverted the billing. That had no effect on the show, though.
“Adios, Farewell, Goodbye, Good Luck, So Long” is a fine representative set of live recordings of Owens and the Buckaroos over a decade or so.
