The Jukebox Rebel

Jim Reeves unleashes his inner Luke The Drifter on this fine LP of recitations. On “The Gun” he catches up with the man who stole his wife and son 3 years earlier. Consumed with guilt, the cad offers Jim his gun and offers himself up for the death sentence. “As I gave the weapon back I said what’s done is done, just be kind to Jenny and my son”. Ooft! “Old Tige” is a great story and Jim Reeves is just the man with the tone to deliver it – a real tear jerker / laugh a minute depending on what sort of mood you’re in. The opening verse sets the tone: “Three years of Army Service done and I was headin' home at last, I got to thinking 'bout my dog and things long gone and past, how old Tige pulled me from the creek when I had no pulse or breath, and how he had saved me from the chargin' bull that gored my Dad to death.” A lively past! Tige has one last deed to perform and the twist at the end is the making of an unforgettable classic. I’m reminded of Johnny Cash’s “Ride This Train” LP of last year when Jim delivers his paean to the Yukon, a reading of Robert Service’s 1907 poem, “The Spell of the Yukon”. It’s a beautiful thing. Root-source inspirations are revealed near the close of play as Jim tackles “Men With Broken Hearts” and “Two Many Parties and Too Many Pals”, both of which were recorded by Hank Williams under his Luke the Drifter guise some 10 years earlier. Jim manages to squeeze in one of his own, “Seven Days” right at the tail end of the set. It’s a love-story gone wrong and Jim finds himself on death-row. It’s a strong way to close the best Jim Reeves album ever. Not that there’s much competition ; – )

The Jukebox Rebel
17–Aug–2008

A1	[03:02] Jim Reeves - Trouble In The Amen Corner (Archie Campbell) Country
A2	[02:17] Jim Reeves - I’m Waiting For Ships That Never Come In (Abe Olman, Jack Yellen) Country
A3	[02:39] Jim Reeves - Annabel Lee (Anita Kerr, Edgar Allan Poe) Country
A4	[02:52] Jim Reeves - The Gun (Mildred Burk, Rose Burk, Jim Reeves) Country
A5	[02:14] Jim Reeves - The Farmer And The Lord (Jim Wilson) Country
A6	[05:39] Jim Reeves - The Shifting Whispering Sands (Jack Gilbert, Mary Hadler) Country
B1	[02:58] Jim Reeves - Old Tige (Mildred Burk, Ross Burk, Jim Reeves) Country
B2	[01:58] Jim Reeves - Why Do I Love You (Melody Of Love) (Hans Engelmann, Tom Glazer) Country
B3	[04:20] Jim Reeves - (Far Away Feeling) The Spell Of The Yukon (Anita Kerr, Robert W. Service) Country
B4	[02:29] Jim Reeves - Men With Broken Hearts (Hank Williams) Country
B5	[02:39] Jim Reeves - Too Many Parties And Too Many Pals (Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson, Billy Ross) Country
B6	[03:00] Jim Reeves - Seven Days (Jim Reeves, Clarence R. Selman) Country

ratings by TJR