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Big Backyard Beat Show

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1998 studio album by BR5-49
Big Backyard Beat Show
Studio album by BR5-49
Released1998
RecordedNovember 1997
GenreCountry
Length41:05
LabelArista
Producer
  • Jozef Nuyens
  • Mike Janas
BR5-49 chronology
BR5-49
(1996) 		Big Backyard Beat Show
(1998) 		Bonus Beats
(1998)

Big Backyard Beat Show is the second album by the American band BR5-49, released in 1998. It peaked at No. 38 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and at No. 7 on the UK Country Artists Album chart. The first single was "Wild One", a cover of the Johnny O'Keefe song; it was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal". The band supported the album with North American and UK tours.

Production

Recorded in November 1997, the album was produced by Jozef Nuyens and Mike Janas. BR5-49 wrote nine of its songs. "Georgia on a Fast Train" is a cover of the Billy Joe Shaver song. "There Goes My Love" was written by Buck Owens. "Seven Nights to Rock" is a version of the song made famous by Moon Mullican. "18 Wheels and a Crowbar" is a tale of road rage. "My Name Is Mudd" is about a town pariah. Santiago Jiménez Jr. played accordion on "Goodbye, Maria". The band considered remixing some of the tracks for a harder sound, but instead chose to have Steve Albini record live tracks for them to use on an EP, Bonus Beats.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionB−
The Baltimore Sun
Edmonton Journal
Lincoln Journal Star
Los Angeles Times
The Ottawa Citizen
San Francisco Examiner
USA Today
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music

The Baltimore Sun concluded that, "as clever as the lyrics sometimes are, the album's real allure is its blend of boogie piano, blues guitar, honky tonk twang, and Tex-Mex exuberance." The Lincoln Journal Star wrote that "Chuck Mead and Gary Bennett are both solid writers—Mead's work tends toward the rock end of things while Bennett recycles the old country feel in his hurtin' songs." USA Today noted that the originals "tend toward the dark or humorous, though guitarist Gary Bennett's 'Storybook Endings (If You Stop Believin')' has both a lyric and a meter that Roger Miller would've appreciated." The Ottawa Citizen stated that "rockabilly, one of modern country music's principal roots, is a key element in the group's recipe." The Scotsman considered the music to be "fired by a raw-edged punk sensibility and mellowed with authentic back-porch charm."

The Washington Post said that Mead "has a dark, humorous streak, as heard in the paean to road rage, '18 Wheels and a Crowbar', and in 'Goodbye, Maria', a tale of suicide set to the happy-sad strains of a polka." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution opined: "Like the Stray Cats or Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, BR5-49 has plopped down in a musical era—in this case, 1950s big-twang, cigarettes-and-ashtrays country—which it excavates like an obsessed college kid in a vintage clothing store." The Los Angeles Times determined that Mead and Bennett "lack the vocal depth and character to make BR5-49 more than a particularly skilled bar band with a well-developed playful streak." The Boston Globe wrote that "BR5-49 owe a great deal of their success to a flat refusal to distill the genre for the sake of accessibility."

Track listing

Big Backyard Beat Show track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."There Goes My Love"Buck Owens2:09
2."Wild One"Dave Owens, Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, Tony Withers2:34
3."Hurtin' Song"Bob Regan, Keith Sewell2:41
4."Out of Habit"Chuck Mead2:28
5."Storybook Endings (If You Stop Believin')"Gary Bennett3:18
6."18 Wheels and a Crowbar" (live at Robert's Western World, January 1996)Mead, Shaw Wilson4:57
7."Pain, Pain Go Away"Bennett2:24
8."You Are Never Nice to Me"Bennett2:45
9."Goodbye, Maria"Mead3:45
10."Seven Nights to Rock"Buck Trail, Louis Innis2:47
11."My Name Is Mudd"Mead3:13
12."You Flew the Coop"Bennett2:23
13."Change the Way I Look"Mead2:38
14."Georgia on a Fast Train"Billy Joe Shaver3:03
Total length:41:05

References

  1. Carlin, Richard (2014). Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary. Taylor & Francis. p. 37.
  2. Nash, Alanna (Jul 31, 1998). "BR5-49: Big Backyard Beat Show". Entertainment Weekly. No. 443. p. 75.
  3. "Top Country Albums". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 32. Aug 8, 1998. p. 34.
  4. "BR5-49". Official Charts. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  5. Kershner, Jim (31 July 1998). "BR5-49". Weekend. The Spokesman-Review. p. 5.
  6. Crawford, Steve (2 Aug 1998). "Recordings". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 6.
  7. "BR5-49". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  8. DeLuca, Dan (29 July 1998). "Quintet's Country Has Classic Feel". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D9.
  9. Perry, Tim (29 Sep 1998). "The Independent Recommends: Pop". The Independent. p. 17.
  10. Orazi, Deborah (9 Aug 1998). "Hey Kids, BR5-49's Putting on a 'Show'". Click. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 12.
  11. "Big Backyard Beat Show". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 32. Aug 8, 1998. p. 20.
  12. Catlin, Roger (23 July 1998). "Big Backyard Beat Show BR5-49". Calendar. The Plain Dealer. p. 7.
  13. Toombs, Mikel (16 July 1998). "The Backyard Boys: BR5-49 has a direct line to the Old Country". Entertainment. The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. 19.
  14. ^ Boehm, Mike (1 Aug 1998). "And a Good Time Is Had by All". Los Angeles Times. p. F14.
  15. Ellis, Bill (26 Nov 1999). "Town's sounds". The Commercial Appeal. p. G16.
  16. ^ Gerard, David (10 Sep 1998). "BR5-49 loyal to its country". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 8.
  17. ^ Graff, Gary (Jul 12, 1998). "BR5-49 Invigorates Old Country Styles". Datebook. San Francisco Examiner. p. 47.
  18. ^ North, Peter (20 Sep 1998). "BR5-49's Backyard Beat Show a winner". Edmonton Journal. p. C8.
  19. Hurst, Jack (28 Aug 1998). "BR5-49 Changes Direction with Albini". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 25.
  20. Flippo, Chet (Jun 20, 1998). "Live shows key to global push behind Arista's BR5-49". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 25. pp. 1, 34.
  21. ^ Longino, Miriam (30 July 1998). "Country". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. E4.
  22. ^ Considine, J. D. (18 June 1998). "Country". Live. The Baltimore Sun. p. 6.
  23. ^ Wolgamott, L. Kent (24 July 1998). "BR5-49 'Big Backyard Beat Show'". Ground Zero. Lincoln Journal Star. p. 20.
  24. ^ Langston, Patrick (8 Aug 1998). "Takin' a Poke at Hurtin'". The Ottawa Citizen. p. E9.
  25. ^ Mansfield, Brian (14 July 1998). "Monica's mature 'Mine'; BR5-49's revival 'Show'". USA Today. p. 8D.
  26. Larkin, Colin (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music. Virgin Books. p. 61.
  27. Wilson, Sue (25 Sep 1998). "Country-Rock Choice BR5-49". The Scotsman. p. 21.
  28. Friskics-Warren, Bill (15 July 1998). "Hillbilly Heaven: BR5-49's Newest Captures the Band's Irrepressible Energy". The Washington Post. p. D5.
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