BUCK OWENS – Bridge Over Troubled Water – (Capitol) – 1971

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Franko
If you don't know who Buck Owens is, you should. If, for no other reason than there are a number of significant rock links to his music, not least being the fact that The Beatles recorded his song "Act Naturally".
 
Owens, born 1929 in Texas (died: 2006), was in the right place at the right time in the right age group to be influenced by the increasing accessibility to all music in the post World War 2 period. Across the South young white boys were taking country music and fusing it with black music and creating rock 'n' roll. Buck, however, took the technology, the electric guitars, the emotional intensity and even the "spirit of rebellion" (as twee as that sounds) and fused that with the Texas honky tonk (already a rabble rousing music if there ever was one) and brought a edge to country music that hadn't existed since Hank Williams' death in 1953.
 
He and like minded others could do that as they were relatively isolated from the (frowns of the) country music establishment.
 
Owens had settled in Bakersfield, California in 1950 and started playing music in bars. Many others from west Texas and the dustbowl areas settled there also and they all shared a love of the hard country of their youth and played music in that style. Being isolated also meant they could incorporate other influences into their music that the country music establishment would have looked down on … especially the rock 'n' roll that was increasing in popularity. Eventually there was quite a large group of musicians playing in that style in and around Bakersfield and when that started translating into hits the "Bakersfield Sound" was born. Buck Owens and Merle Haggard are the most well known exponents of the sound though Dave Dudley, Hank Thompson and Wynn Stewart all loom large also.
 
Even more importantly, the Bakersfield sound was the direct precursor to country rock. When Gram Parsons and others started experimenting in incorporating country into rock it had already been done by Owens though in reverse – he incorporated rock into country. Incidentally, Elvis, Charlie Feathers and others had predated Gram with the "experiment" by some ten years or so but no one noticed.
 
The influence of the Bakersfield sound of which Owens was central has been substantial on Gram Parson, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Dwight Yoakam, Dave Alvin, The Derailers, Dale Watson, The Mavericks, Brad Paisley, Dave Gleason and many others as well as on the "alt country" and "cow punk" genres.
 
Allmusic: "Buck Owens, along with Merle Haggard, was the leader of the Bakersfield sound, a twangy, electricified, rock-influenced interpretation of hardcore honky tonk that emerged in the '60s. Owens was the first bona fide country star to emerge from Bakersfield, scoring a total of 15 consecutive number one hits in the mid-'60s. In the process, he provided an edgy alternative to the string-laden country-pop that was being produced during the '60s. Later in his career, his musical impact was forgotten by some as he became a television personality through the country comedy show Hee Haw. Nevertheless, several generations of musicians — from Gram Parsons in the late '60s to Dwight Yoakam in the '80s — were influenced by his music, which wound up being one of the blueprints for modern country music".
 
Having said all that, this album comes at mid-point in Owens career and the electric honky tonk is toned down. The album is made up of ballads and mid-tempo songs and there are backing voices and various instrumental incidentals around the edges that smooth out some of those edges. On top of that Buck has covered three Paul Simon songs, a Dylan and a Donovan. As a result of all this the album moves closer to the country pop sound popular at the time, but, regardless, it does not sound like anything coming out of Nashville. The regional accents are alive and well and even the most maudlin of tracks have a crisp little bite to them. So, there is no mistaking that this is anything but regional country music.
 
It would be easy to suggest that Buck is cashing in with the covers, and maybe he was but a man has to eat. In his defence, given his attitude to music and his interpretations of these songs, I would think that this is a genuine effort. He has made his covers interesting and even the old war horse "Bridge Over Troubled Water" sounds fresh. His own songs on this album are as good also. Most noticeably, there is an underlying sadness, or perhaps thoughtful regret that runs across the album. Though maybe that is explainable – after all it was 1971 … Nixon was in power, Vietnam was raging, prison riots, rising inflation, the first wide scale obvious effects of environmental pollution were being publicized etc … the optimism of the 60s was over. 
 
This is around his 45th album in 12 years so he was no slouch … and it should be noted that music was his job not his "art".
 
Songs (best in italics)
  • Bridge over Troubled Water – Simon – #9 on the country US charts. It's not easy to get something original out of this song which is up there with "Yesterday" and "Blowing in the Wind" as one of the most recorded tunes but Buck makes a memorable version. Well sung with tasteful use of backing vocals, country style.
  • Within My Loving Arms – Owens –  a good original with the usual country sentiment
  • (I'm Goin') Home – Clements, English – Susan Raye, also did a version of this in 1971 which was produced by Buck Owens, oddly.
  • The Devil Made Me Do That – Owens – an excellent song about drinking and regret … in other words a typical country song.
                        Got off work at five o'clock and started home to you
                        Running to an old acquaintance and we had one or two
                        And when I woke up this morning didn't know where I was at
                        My one excuse to offer you the devil made me do that
                        I only meant to say hello to an old memory
                        But when I tried to say goodbye he took a hold of me
                        And when he let go this morning didn't know where I was at
                        My one excuse to offer you the devil made me do that
                        The devil made me taste the wine and helped the glass abide
                        And like the blind man leads the blind I drank till the lid ran dry
                        And when I woke up this morning didn't know where I was at
                        My one excuse to offer you the devil made me do that
                        Oh when I got home this morning didn't know where you were at
                        My one excuse to offer you the devil made me do that
  • Catch the Wind  – Donovan – a excellent cover and a slightly different emphasis … and to my ear, as good as the Donovan original and possibly better because it doesn't have the slight hippie smugness of the Donovan version.
  • San Francisco Town – Owens – yet another San Francisco song – how many were written? This one is quite funny and sympathetic told from the point of view of a hippie hobo … as if Ray Davies went straight country.
  • Everything Reminds Me You're Gone – Owens –  a typical country ballad about a lost love …
  • Homeward Bound – Simon –  Simon's quiet folk ballad … here, really well sung and quite effective … and when sung by Buck it "becomes" a country song. Thematically the song ticks all the country bases anyway. An astute song choice.
  • Love Minus Zero – No Limit – Dylan – again, despite lyrics which are obscure and almost a stream of consciousness in Dylan fashion this comes across as if it was a country song. Oddly, Rick Nelson also covered the song on his country rock album "Rudy The Fifth", also from 1971.
  • I Am a Rock  – Simon – another astute take on well known song … with the crescendo of voices and jittery keyboards effective against the insistent backbeat. Not many country singers can get away with Simon's lines " I have my books and my poetry to protect me". A hoot.
And …
 
This may not be up with some of his other albums but this is still a great album … and could be great late night drinking (and lamenting) music.
 
Chart Action
 
The album went to #11 in US Country charts.It did not cross over.

Songs

The Devil Made Me Do That 
attached
 
Catch the Wind 
attached
 
Love Minus Zero – No Limit
attached 
 
Extra clips:
 
 
Buck doin' The Beatles
 
Review
 
 
Bio
 
 
Bakersfield Sound:
 
Website
 
 
Trivia
  • Buck Owens was born on August 12, 1929 in Sherman, Texas. His full name was Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr.
  • He recorded some rockabilly sides in 1957 as Corky Jones.
(originally posted: 22/11/2009)

About Franko

Hi, I'm just a person with a love of music, a lot of records and some spare time. My opinions are comments not reviews and are mine so don't be offended if I have slighted your favourite artist. I have listened to a lot of music and I don't pretend to be impartial. You can contact me on franklycollectible@gmail.com though I would rather you left a comment. I also sell music at http://www.franklycollectible.com Cheers
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