26 July, 2025

The Reverend Will the Thrill Presents the Album of the Week!

I'm kind of annoyed.  I had an album picked out for this week, but can't find a decent YouTube link--at least not a geographically accurate one.  In fact, it appears to be the only album of this particular artist that doesn't appear on his YouTube channel.  It's not on Spotify either.  I preusme the fact that there are three distinctly different versions (European, British, and American) probably has something to do with that.  But I've been inextricably drawn to it (the American version) for some reason.  I've listened to it thrice this past week.  Oh well.  Guess I'll just post a bunch of random songs of his on my Facebook page as the day progresses...

In spite of that disappointment--maybe even because of it--I kept coming back to the album I'm now sharing with you.  I haven't actually listened to it from beginning to end in some time, but it's always been an essential part of the soundtrack of my life from the time I was a little kid.  Both my dad and my aunt had it in their record collections.  I currently have Dad's old copy hanging on my bedroom wall.  It's always been one of my favourites, even in my teens and twenties when I really didn't like country music at all.

In spite of the fact that it was recorded at the height of the "outlaw country" movement, it still seems timeless.  Many of the songs seem as relevant in the year 2003 Plus 22 as they did when they were first released in 1978.  But most importantly is the album's opening track, "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys."  The song, written by Ed and Patsy Bruce, is one of those songs that I can't just hear.  I can't just listen to it.  I can't just sing along.  I genuinely feel it.  This is especially true of the last half of the last verse.  Part of it is the lyric itself.  Part of it is the way it's sung with the delivery of a good punchline.  Regardless, I've always felt that it describes me better than any other lyric I've ever heard.  At the very least, I sometimes feel that it's how others see me.

Featuring songs written by the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Shel Silverstein, and even Stevie Nicks, as well as a few by the artists themselves, this week please enjoy Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson with their appropriately titled album, Waylon & Willie.

Until next week, stay safe, be good to your neighbours, and please remember that if at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.

Yours in peace, love and rock 'n' roll!
The Reverend Will the Thrill
 

 

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