Music Review: Buck ‘Em! The Music Of Buck Owens, Volume Two (1967-1975)

By Melissa Bratcher

“Would we still be talking about Buck Owens if it weren’t for Hee Haw?” I was asked recently and have spent an inordinate amount of time mulling over the answer. The answer, of course, is maybe. Hee Haw was an amazing music delivery system, imbuing Buck’s image with a family-friendly, easily accessible shorthand: he’s that smiling guy on TV every week with his Buckaroos and the pretty girls and Grandpa Jones and Roy Clark, and he’s kind of funny with his dad jokes, and he makes some catchy tunes. You think (if you’ve spent time watching Hee Haw) about what Buck Owens looked like, which, in an pre-MTV/CMTV videos era, is pretty spectacular. You can conjure up what he looks like playing his American flag striped guitar, you know what the Buckaroos look like, you can see Don Rich smiling in your mind’s eye.

But Buck Owens’s legacy wouldn’t have the staying power it does if it weren’t for the incredible quality of his musical output. Omnivore Recordings have released a follow up to 2013’s Buck ‘Em! The Music of Buck Owens (1955-1967) (review) with Buck ‘Em! The Music Of Buck Owens, Volume Two (1967-1975) and it’s wonderful. Another 50 tracks of classics, live performances, alternate takes, cover versions (Buck always had an affinity for rock music, and his takes on of the moment rock songs are always a treasure), and outtakes are wrapped in a two-disc set, with illuminating liner notes (delightfully conversational and culled from Buck’s autobiography, also titled Buck ‘Em!), loads of photos, and ephemera. It’s a wonderful companion to the previous release and captures Buck Owens at a creative high point in his career, as well as following the devastating loss of “my partner, my brother, my best friend,” Don Rich in 1974.

There’s a remarkable sonic quality to Buck Owens’s music, and Buck addresses this in his autobiography. The songs were specifically engineered to sound the best coming out of a radio (AM radio, even) and, as a result, they have more treble than most music (and certainly much more by current musical standards). There’s a wonderful brightness to the production and the guitars often have a beautifully crisp tone. The Spanish guitar of the weeper “Sweet Rosie Jones” is gorgeous, as are the harmonies.

I’ve written (and talked) incessantly about the harmonies between Buck Owens and Don Rich; they had this preternatural communication, a way of matching phrasing and tone that is inimitable. They sound like the same person, like Owens was multitracked, but he wasn’t. The symbiotic relationship between Buck Owens and Don Rich is endlessly fascinating to me, and in the liner notes, he writes, “I’ve said it many times, but I’ll say it again: Don Rich was as much a part of the Buck Owens Sound as I was.” he goes on to say that he was signed to Capitol when he met Don, but “I don’t think there’s any way I can articulate how important he was to me, or to my music, because I don’t think the words exist.” That. Is. Beautiful.

The live performances are a highlight on a compilation that is full of highlights. The version of “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail (Live At The White House)” has a kinetic energy, with sharp harmonies and a wild, loose solo from Don Rich and a charmingly off the cuff performance from Buck. “Johnny B. Goode (Live In London),” too, is appealingly loose and lively, and so much fun. The witty “Las Vegas Lament (Live In Las Vegas)” is always a delight, and the crowd’s reaction lets us hear that they dug it, too. The grinning Hager twins join Buck and The Buckaroos on the propulsive, “Tall Dark Stranger (Live In Scandinavia)” but their contribution is nominal, which is fine, really. The Buckaroos were a finely tuned machine.

“On The Cover Of The Music City News (Live In Japan),” again, captures the Buckaroos having a good time (and how could they not? It’s a country version of Dr. Hook’s “The Cover Of The Rolling Stone”). Owens’s laughter at the beginning of “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms (Live In Australia)” is completely disarming, and his introductions of each band member as they had a turn in the spotlight is so joyful. The way he bellows “Don Rich” made me clap my hands like I was at the show, because I am easily swayed by Buck Owens’s enthusiasm.

Instrumental “Things I Saw Happening At The Fountain On The Plaza When I Was Visiting Rome Or Amore” wins for longest title, but is also lovely. While the guitar sounds a bit more Spanish in places (to my ear) it is an evocative, interesting choice, with a swinging beat. The fuzzed-out guitar of “Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass” is perfectly in tune with the psychedelia of the times, and is, again, a bold choice. Buck Owens (and his Buckaroos) were little-credited innovators (did you know that Buck Owens owned one of the first Moog synthesizers made?). There’s a fantastic guitar sound on “The Kansas City Song,” which almost negates the dreadful chorus of high female voices singing harmony (they’re a bit screechy). “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is a pretty cover, an almost delicate thing, with heartfelt vocals from Owens. Buckaroo Ronnie Jackson’s banjo is magical on “Corn Likker,” and when joined by Don Rich’s fiddle playing and Buck’s rambunctious lead vocals, it’s fun and peppy. The harmonies on “I Love You So Much It Hurts” are so perfect it, well, it hurts. It really is some sort of mystical thing, those harmonies.

“Streets Of Bakersfield” has so much more musical depth than I’d ever noticed, with a rich piano line buried in the mix and such an excellent guitar tone. “Big Game Hunter” veers wildly toward rock and the lyrics just make me sad (though they’re funny), because they’re rooted in reality. One of the more ridiculous songs, “(It’s A) Monster’s Holiday” has its charms, and is due a revival, but as Buck points out in the liner notes, it was released nowhere near Halloween. Their bouncy take on “The Battle Of New Orleans” is the perfect amount of rambunctious.

There are duets aplenty on Buck ‘Em! Volume 2. Buck’s son Buddy Alan joins his dad on the upbeat “Let The World Keep On A Turnin’.” His frequent duet partner Susan Raye shows up a few times, like on the cheery, “We’re Gonna Get Together,” with extra added banter. Ray’s performance of “The Good Old Days (Are Here Again)” is surprisingly compelling. “Today I Started Loving You Again,” his duet with Bettye Swann (this version is an outtake) is outstanding. Owens is understated, letting the astounding Swann take the lead with her silky vocals, and the Buckaroos are funkier (yet more relaxed) than they’ve ever been. I need more of this, please.

The sheer output of Buck Owens and The Buckaroos is impressive. Even more impressive is the quality of their output. Choosing just 50 tracks from this time period (1967-1975) to represent all of the things that Buck and the Buckaroos were up to had to have been excruciatingly difficult, but Buck ‘Em! Volume 2  rises admirably to the task. It’s a great entry point for a new Buck Owens fan and a great collection for completists (the duet with Bettye Swann is worth the cost alone. Seriously).

Buck ‘Em! The Music Of Buck Owens, Volume Two (1967-1975) was released by Omnivore Recordings on November 13.