Bobby Bare - vocals, guitar; Tom Hamilton - steel guitar, dobro; Dave Hargis - lead guitar; Gary Kubal - drums; Ken Smith - bass; Lewis Stephens - keyboards
Outlaw country singer Bobby Bare recorded several shows during 1983 and 1984 for the Silver Eagle Cross Country Radio Concert Series, including an early and late show at New York's Lone Star Cafe on 52nd Street. For this show, he and his band open with "Marie Laveau," an original that Bare wrote about a legendary New Orleans prostitute. The song's country-swamp vibe gets his audience in a party mood, and Bare has no problem keeping them there.
He runs through a number of songs from his years on Columbia Records, during what is generally regarded as his "drunk and crazy" era, among them "Pour Me Another Tequila Sheila," "Quaaludes Again" and the always popular "Up Against The Wall, Redneck Mother." His medley "500 Miles Away From Home / Four Strong Winds / Shame On Me" is particularly strong, and "Detroit City" makes for a great show closer before Bare returns for the encores.
He offers a few serious songs - "Desperados Waiting For A Train" and "Ride Me Down Easy" - before moving on to his usual country comical standards "Drop Kick Me Jesus" and "The Jogger." At the time this recording was made, Bare was promoting 1983's Drinkin' from the Bottle, Singin' from the Heart, an album which would be not only his final release for Columbia, but also his last period for almost 12 years. He returned to the studio to record a Christmas album in 1995, and has done a handful of records since then - the most recent being produced by his son, Bobby Bare Jr., an established alternative artist.