The Moon Was Blue
Though he had quit recording in the 1980s, Bobby Bare's classic '60s singles "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home" reflected a folk-flavored iconoclasm that foretold the rise of Nashville's Outlaw movement. He continued into the 1970s with hits like "Marie Laveau" and 1973's "Daddy What If," which featured five-year-oldBobby Bare Jr., today an alt.country luminary. OnThe Moon Was Blue, coproducers Bare Jr. andLambchopproducer Mark Nevers surround Bare Sr. with a quirky amalgam of choruses and strings, recalling the early-'60s Nashville Sound era in which he first made his mark. At 70, his wry humor and heart shine through on this clever, slightly bent, retro mix of vintage material. The 1909 singalong "Shine on Harvest Moon" coexists alongside country standards ("Am I That Easy to Forget," "Yesterday When I Was Young," and "Are You Sincere"), '60s pop ("Everybody's Talkin'"), and '50s ballads ("Love Letters in the Sand," "It's All in the Game," and "My Heart Cries For You"). Taken as a whole, the album reaffirms Bare's continuing vitality--and sly iconoclasm.--Rich Kienzle