Waylon Live
Waylon Jennings' 1976 album Waylon Live is generally considered as one of the great live albums in country music ? and, when pressed, it's easy to make an argument that it's among the finest of the decade ? and Buddha's 1999 reissue seemed to be the final word on the record, since it restored the record to its scrapped original double-album running length, taking it from 11 to 20 songs. Just four years later, however, BMG Heritage issued Waylon Live: The Expanded Edition, which more than doubled its length to 42 songs over two discs. Most concerts don't last that long and it is true that this expanded Waylon Live isn't taken from just one gig; it was taken from three concerts in late September 1974: one show at the Western Place in Dallas on the 25th and two dates at the Opry House in Austin on the 26th and 27th. Simply put, Jennings was on fire these three days, at the peak of his powers as a performer, turning out music that was rebelliously rowdy and sweetly poignant. These shows were also at a crucial time, just as he was reaching the summit of his creativity, and this new expanded track listing has him looking back ten years while living thoroughly in the moment.