Review: Joe Ely

Satisfied at Last, the title of Joe Ely's forthcoming album, is terribly misleading.  The country artist has specialized in songs of despair, disappointment and unfulfilled dreams for about 40 years.  "Tennessee is not the state I'm in," Ely sang on one of the more ingenious songs on his astonishing 1977 debut solo album.  "Satisfied is not the way I've been."

The telling couplet set the tone for a career that's been accorded more critical plaudits than public acceptance.  Had Ely met an untimely demise 30 years ago, he would have left behind a handful of tough-minded honky tonk albums worthy of mention alongside Hank Williams, Buddy Holly and Townes Van Zandt, three of Ely's most obvious ill-fated inspirations.   

Instead, Ely, 64, has carved out a somewhat less brazen but enduring career on the fringes of country music. Either unwilling or unable to make the artistic compromises seemingly necessary to become a country star, Ely is a classic example of a cult artist.  His reputation as a dynamic performer and expert songwriter managed to attract approximately 250 devoted fans to Knuckleheads on Thursday for the first date of a new tour in support of "Satisfied at Last."  The audience was among the first to discover that the album's title track is not about contentment.  It's about death.    

Ely and his workmanlike three-piece backing band performed the majority of the new album.  Miniature portraits of desperate people confronted with extreme hardship, the content included repeated references to prison, barrooms and financial woes.  Sturdy and instantly memorable, the fresh songs merited the time and attention Ely gave them.  Their prominent role in Ely's ninety-minute set, however, meant that longtime favorites including "Honky Tonk Masquerade," "If You Were a Bluebird" and "Boxcars" were neglected.  

The setlist did include "The Road Goes On Forever," "Dallas" and "Me and Billy the Kid," sing-alongs that have become Ely's signature songs. While he didn't intentionally betray any resentment, his renditions of this material possessed the feel of an obligatory ritual.  In spite of Ely's good cheer, charming anecdotes and weary but still rugged voice, much of his set felt slightly routine.  Only during a devastatingly emotional reading of Billy Joe Shaver's "Live Forever" did a sense of spontaneous joy fill the outdoor space.  

Ely began the night with a new song that might serve as a synopsis of his rewarding but confounding career.   It's titled "Not That Much Has Changed."

| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star

Comments

[Hugh Jas]

Disappointed that he didn't play 'Gallo del Cielo' (the rooster song), but otherwise a great show, as always.

An excellent, talented band backing him.
There simply is no better place to see this kind of act than Knuckleheads.

[Geordan]

I enjoyed it tremendously. I did have one of Joe's most vocal fans behind me on my seat back in bleacherville. He was almost louder than the trains, so much so, that other people near us would look over to him with a look that said, "Really, dude??" Alcohol can do that, I suppose. Anyway, I met Joe afterward and had him sign the new cd. My favorite song of the night happened early on with a rollicking rendition of "All Just To Get To You." Finishing with a solid version of "Cool Rockin' Loretta" was also very, well, cool. It was a warm night down in the bottoms and even a hotter night on stage.

[Jeff B.]

Bill Brownlee clearly doesn't get Joe Ely. As someone who's seen him ten or more times in various configurations over a 35 year period, I know that Joe can't be defined as "country" -- as Brownlee does several times.

Joe Ely is somewhere between rock, country, and folk. To put it more simply, he plays Texas roots music. One of the first times I saw Joe was when he opened for the Clash on their US tour in the early 80s. They looked up to Joe as someone who was continuing the tradition of people like Buddy Holly.

Joe and the band did not just go through the motions. He presented some very good, new material. And he played some of his better known songs. No, he didn't do all his best known stuff, but is that really what a critic goes to a show for? Isn't it a good thing that an artist who's been around for a long time plays good new material?

Thursday night wasn't the best Joe Ely show I've seen, but he and his band were very good. I'd recommend his music to anyone, not just "country" fans.