Released hot on the heels of
Randy Rogers' second album (his first for the Smith label),
Live at Billy Bob's Texas is a curiously subdued live set.
Rogers is that rarity, a country singer/songwriter who records with his road band instead of the usual session musicians, which gives his albums a relaxed, rough-edged feel missing from the standard antiseptic Music Row product. But unfortunately, it also means that there's little difference between these live tracks and
Rogers' studio albums. Only the occasional whoop or slightly ill-timed cymbal crash differentiates some of the songs. More effective are tracks like "Tonight's Not the Night," which
Rogers and band take a bit faster and with more passion than on the laid-back studio cut, and "Again," a
Rogers co-write originally recorded by his songwriting partner
Cody Canada's band
Cross Canadian Ragweed that
Rogers turns into a fuzz-guitar-powered rocker. The set climaxes with an extended workout on "Lost and Found," from
Rogers' debut, showcasing a series of solos brief enough to keep from devolving into tiresome showboating. Some more moments of spontaneity would make
Live at Billy Bob's Texas a more exciting listen, but fans should appreciate it. ~ Stewart Mason