You’d think being Nashville’s most outspoken critic would be a full-time job. But as it turns out, Charlie Robison actually has time to make albums and do live shows, two pursuits that come together nicely on Live, recorded during a two-night stand at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas.
Robison’s natural charisma is most evident in concert, and his control of the end product is complete — there are no record label suits that stand between the singer/songwriter and his audience.
So give him credit for the way that Live captures the feel of a typical Robison show, with him telling stories between songs a la Springsteen, and letting his devoted fans sing along (note that they know the verses, not just the choruses).
But also blame him for falling into one of Nashville’s most insidious traps: attempting to up the hipness quotient of his music by inserting classic rock songs into his set, as he does here with an anemic version of Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold”, and an oddball medley that sets Steve Miller’s “The Joker” alongside Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” and Waylon Jennings’ “Luckenbach Texas”, as well as other stray references.
Robison is at his best when he’s performing his own songs, or those written by his brother Bruce. “My Hometown”, “Barlight”, and the Pogues-like “John O’Reilly” generate plenty of heat on their own, as do Bruce’s “Tonight”, “Poor Man’s Son” and his hilarious, indelicate putdown, “You’re Not the Best”.
But score one for the suits, too. The disc wraps up with a studio cut, “Walter”, written by neither Robison nor his brother. It’s a bright, wise-cracking, but country-radio-ready kind of cut that suggests the word “compromise” may be in Robison’s vocabulary after all.
