Joe Ely

By the time of the release of his debut solo album in 1977 Joe Ely had already recorded one of the most distinctive country records of all time with the little known but much beloved Flatlanders of Lubbock, Texas. The songs from that album, performed with fellow Texas country luminaries Butch Hancock and Jimmy Dale Gilmore, were understated masterpieces that invoked Texas’ rich musical history while sounding entirely unlike anything that had come before. Ely’s first solo album continues in this uniquely inspired vein. Joe Ely contains ten muscular compositions that draw from a myriad of Texan musical traditions, from rollicking Tex-Mex to hard driving rockabilly and classic honky-tonk. The production on tunes like “She Never Spoke Spanish To Me” and “I Had My Hopes Up High” is firmly in the roots tradition and simultaneously invokes the stripped down minimalism of Buddy Holly and the tear jerking, accordion laced Tejano stomps of the great Freddy Fender. Joe Ely is a wholly authentic slice of dust blown West Texas roots music that transcends categorization.