Grab your cowboy hat and boots; we’re taking a TXRDR road trip to Pearl’s Dancehall & Saloon in Ft. Worth, TX, home of Tommy Alverson’s latest album, “Live Again.” If Santa didn’t get you everything on your list and you are looking for some REAL Texas Country music, then look no further. Clear out 80 MB of space on that iPod you got for Christmas, this new live album deserves a spot in your Red Dirt rotation. One word of caution, if old school, honky-tonk, Texas country music isn’t your thing, then Tommy is not your guy.
Tommy takes you right to the front row of 302 W Exchange Ave, with his first song “Anytime, Anywhere.” If you aren’t on the dance floor by now two stepping, then this album probably isn’t for you. I personally have never seen Tommy and his band play live but there is no mistaking that this is REAL Texas Country music! Every song is dripping with some of the finest steel guitar and fiddle you’ll hear, courtesy of Ray Austin and Thurston Selby.
Surprisingly, Tommy wrote only 3 of the 11 songs, but don’t be mistaken, the set list that night was a fantastic mix of true country classics. After the first 4 songs have worn holes in your boots, sit back and relax while things slow down with a cover of Merle Haggard’s “I Wish I Was Thirty Again.”
Track number 6, in my opinion is the best of the album. Tommy pulls off a great cover of Bob Dylan’s 1969 hit “Tonight I’ll be Stayin’ Here with You.” If you can’t get the entire album, at least do yourself a favor and borrow 99 cents and buy this song. (As of last week, this song was up to #24 on the Texas Music Chart.)
Up next on the set list, Tommy continues to pay tribute to past greats, covering “Poncho & Lefty” by Townes Van Zandt, “Southwestern Pilgrimage” by Michael Martin Murphey, and “Boot Heel Drag” from Bob Wills, “The King of Swing.”
It’s almost closing time at the Ft. Worth honky-tonk as Tommy wraps up the evening with his very own “Fallin’ Off a Log.”
However, the night is not quite over… Fast-forward to 3:24, and enjoy the bonus track titled “Pretty Boys.” Tommy gives his assessment of today’s NEW Texas Music scene. Whether you agree with him or not, it’s a fun song in which he does some serious name-dropping.
Hope you enjoyed the Red Dirt road trip to “The Gem of the Stockyards” to hear some Texas Music Royalty in Tommy Alverson’s latest release “Live Again.”
Keep supporting live Texas Red Dirt Music, and here’s to 2010!
~Scot
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written by TXRDR-Russell , December 31, 2009
