Live at Billy Bob's Texas: Roy Clark

Like all of the entries in the Live at Billy Bob's Texas series, this does not divulge the date of recording, but one can reasonably assume it's from a show not long before the CD's mid-2000 release. Clark is still an excellent, fast-as-anyone guitar picker, as heard on this set's instrumentals. Those instrumentals cover a lot of ground, too: the jazz standard "Caravan," "Riders in the Sky," the bluegrass perennials "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and "Dueling Banjos," "Malaguena," "El Cumbanchero," and (least successfully) "Lara's Theme." He still sings, too — unfortunately, one could say, given both the lesser material he applies his vocals to and the good-natured but limited, gruff tone of his voice. The overall effect is a bit schizophrenic, if fairly typical of all-around shows that some country stars like to give. Pretty hillbilly-sounding instrumentals are interspersed with sentimental, drippy MOR country ballads like "Love Takes Two" and "Yesterday When I Was Young," though the corny, satirical "Thank God and Greyhound" breaks up that mood a bit. The audience eats it up, though, and also responds favorably to his mildly amusing stage announcements. Too bad the band, which plays pretty well, includes an ill-chosen synthesizer (though that instrument isn't extremely prominent).