Live From Austin TX
Those who have experienced a Robert Earl Keen show in his native Texas know it can be hard to hear the artist amid all the whooping and partying of his rabidly loyal following. This 2001 taping from theAustin City Limitsseries gives the singer-songwriter's range the attention it deserves. An eight-minute rendition of Keen's signature anthem, "The Road Goes On Forever," shifts that epic into overdrive, as the furious interplay of guitarist Rich Brotherton and steel guitarist Marty Muse finds the band firing on all cylinders. Yet the subtler selections are every bit as impressive, with his reflective rendition ofTownes Van Zandt's "Snowin' on Raton" and the brooding melancholy ofJohhny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" highlighting the performance. ThoughAustin City Limitstypically condenses an artist's appearance into a half hour for airing, this CD (with the performance also available as aDVD) presents the full studio concert.--Don McLeese