ROBERT EARL KEEN
The Party Never Ends (Sugar Hill)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Robert Earl Keen has written a bunch of songs for a bunch of albums on a bunch of labels since he recorded the music on the three Sugar Hill albums that make up this collection, subtitled 'Songs You Know From The Times You Can't Remember.' Some folks would probably argue that a lot of those later songs are better songs, and some days they might even convince me that's true. Just the same, these are songs that will always pull a smile from a REK fan. They're the ones that are broken in, that fit just as good as those jeans you wouldn't wear to town but can't wait to put on at home.

The Texas singer/songwriter scene has produced more than its share of terrific songs, but Keen stands out as one of that scene's best performers, as well as a terrific writer, with the ability to make you fall over laughing just a minute after he breaks your heart. There are tracks here that will evoke both reactions, and if you don't already know them by heart, you'll find yourself listening over and over until you're able to sing right along. It's that kind of music, and there are times when that's the only kind of music that will do. You may not remember those times later, but you'll enjoy them forever.

Track List:

Five Pound Bass * The Front Porch Song * I'm Coming Home * Dreadful Selfish Crime * Think It Over One Time * It's The Little Things * Copenhagen * Barbeque * Gringo Honeymoon * Mariano * The Bluegrass Widow * The Road Goes On Forever * Merry Christmas From The Family

© 2003 - Shaun Dale