Lord of the Highway

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Lord of the Highway
Lord of the Highway.webp
Studio album by
Joe Ely
Released1987
Genre
Label HighTone [1]
Producer Joe Ely
Joe Ely chronology
Hi-Res
(1984)		Lord of the Highway
(1987)		Dig All Night
(1988)

Lord of the Highway is an album by the American musician Joe Ely, released in 1987. [2] [3] It had been three and a half years since his previous album, during which time he recorded an unreleased album for MCA Records, assembled a new band, and toured. [4] Ely supported the album with a North American tour. [5] [6]

Contents

Production

Ely considered the album to be merely recorded (on an 8-track, at Ely's home), not produced. [7] [8] [9] The title track and "Row of Dominoes" were written by Butch Hancock. [10] Bobby Keys played saxophone on the album; David Grissom played guitar. [11] [12] The CD version of Lord of the Highway includes "Screaming Blue Jillions" as the 11th track. [13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Chicago Sun-Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [7]
Robert Christgau B+ [14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
The Gazette 7.9/10 [10]
New Musical Express 5/10 [16]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]
Richmond Times-Dispatch A [4]

Robert Christgau lamented that "a decade of being told what a hot shit he is has Ely oversinging to signify his intensity." [14] The Los Angeles Times wrote that "Ely's cooked up a tasty rock 'n' roll chili with country flavoring based on much the same recipe as Let it Bleed/Sticky Fingers Stones." [17] The New York Times stated that Ely "hasn't simplified what he sings to fit the rock format; he still prefers lyrics with wry, unheroic twists." [19]

The Chicago Tribune opined that Ely's "tales of hard living and even harder loving work both as true life tales and striking, image-rich fragments of a new American mythology." [5] The Philadelphia Inquirer opined that "Me and Billy the Kid" "is as supple a narrative as Ely has ever constructed." [18] The Philadelphia Daily News listed the album as the ninth best of 1987. [20]

AllMusic noted that "the roots rock sound of Lord of the Highway is much closer to 1981's Musta Notta Gotta Lotta than to Hi-Res. [13] Record Collector determined that Ely's setting is "a cut above standard bar room chugs thanks mainly to the wit of the lyrics." [21]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Lord of the Highway"3:54
2."(Don't Put a) Lock on My Heart"4:08
3."Me and Billy the Kid"3:23
4."Letter to L.A."8:12
5."No Rope, Daisy-O"0:40
6."My Baby Thinks She's French"3:45
7."Everybody Got Hammered"3:34
8."Are You Listenin' Lucky?"3:19
9."Row of Dominoes"3:37
10."Silver City"4:31

References

  1. ↑ Oglesby, Christopher J. (June 11, 2013). "Fire in the Water, Earth in the Air: Legends of West Texas Music". University of Texas Press – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ "Joe Ely Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Cullman, Brian (November–December 1987). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 3, no. 7. p. 31.
  4. 1 2 Perry, Claudia (August 16, 1987). "ROCKING AND WAILING". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. J5.
  5. 1 2 Heim, Chris (August 24, 1987). "JOE ELY TEARS UP PARK WEST JUST LIKE A TEXAS TORNADO". CHICAGOLAND. Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
  6. ↑ Emerson, Bo (January 15, 1988). "Ely's a 'Lord of the Highway' and the king of his own road". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. P6.
  7. 1 2 McLeese, Don (July 20, 1987). "Joe Ely has right mix: muscle and soul". Features. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 33.
  8. ↑ Forte, Dan (September 6, 1987). "Joe Ely – Blue Enough to Front The 15th S.F. Fest". SUNDAY DATEBOOK. San Francisco Chronicle. p. 29.
  9. ↑ Bermant, Charles (September 29, 1987). "Career heats up for Joe Ely". The Globe and Mail. p. D7.
  10. 1 2 Griffin, John (July 30, 1987). "Joe Ely - LORD OF THE HIGHWAY". The Gazette. p. C9.
  11. ↑ Mackie, John (September 3, 1987). "First up is Texas fireball Joe Ely...". Vancouver Sun. p. D8.
  12. ↑ Strauss, Duncan (September 13, 1987). "JOE ELY: NO FRILLS AND LOTS OF SPARKS". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 73.
  13. 1 2 3 "Joe Ely Lord of the Highway". AllMusic.
  14. 1 2 "Robert Christgau: CG: Joe Ely". www.robertchristgau.com.
  15. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. III (3rd ed.). MUZE. p. 1750.
  16. ↑ Romney, Jonathan (October 31, 1987). "Joe Ely: Lord Of The Highway". New Musical Express . p. 34.
  17. 1 2 Hochman, Steve (August 23, 1987). "'LORD OF THE HIGHWAY'. Joe Ely". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 71.
  18. 1 2 Tucker, Ken (August 30, 1987). "JOE ELY Lord of the Highway". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F3.
  19. ↑ Pareles, Jon (February 1, 1988). "Joe Ely and Band, at the Ritz". The New York Times. p. C29.
  20. ↑ Takiff, Jonathan (December 30, 1987). "SILVER TRACKS AMONG THE OLD". FEATURES TONIGHT. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 45.
  21. ↑ "Lord of the Highway/ Dig All Night". Record Collector.
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