Most folk know thatBilly Joe Shaver has a long history of hiring musicians who, not only fit his musical sensibility, but also are really good independent artists - from Panama Red (Bottom Dollar) in the early Nashville years, the years with Eddy and Keith Christopher, and those with Jesse Taylor and Mandy Mercier.
Well, you better add Bob Brown to that list. His "Do Right Man" is eleven cool songs. He plays literally everything on one song or another - drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, fiddle, dobro, mandolin, steel, harmonica. He also has some really great Austin friends and guests like the Waddell brothers (Leland did a stint in Billy's band not long ago) and Lloyd Maines.
The music is a pleasant mix of swing and Texas OKOM. Most of the tunes are originals by Bob, with a few contributions from David Waddell, Kevin Dolin, Freddie Powers. Lots of soul and humor. I was really impressed with Bob's vocal, having only heard him do the backups on Billy's vocals. Bob has a smooth style with a rich and mellow timbre, perfect for the jazzy numbers like "Go Getter" and "Write Myself a Letter"/"All Your Fault", and a country-soulful sound on the more tender cuts like "In Their Dreams" and "You Beat All".
Bob's "Christmas in Texas" and the traditional "Wayfaring Stranger" are superb! "Christmas in Texas" should be on a George Strait holiday CD; it is a wonderful Texas swing tune with smiling pedal steel. "Wayfaring Stranger" has Lloyd Maines on doro, and Bob on the mandolin in one of the best instrumentations of the album.
I'd strongly recommend folks to get this CD if the can!
----Waco Odie
Track List:
1. Do Right Man
2. Go Getter
3. In Their Dreams
4. Tejano Moon
5. Write Myself a Letter/All Your Fault
6. More Whiskey
7. Wayfaring Stranger
8. Brenda's Waltz
9. You Beat All
10. Christmas in Texas
11. I Can't Believe
Other Genres:
