Fans of honky tonk music once loved BR5-49, a band which went from 0-60 in short order while playing at Robert’s Western Wear at Nashville’s Lower Broadway bar/tourist district. The band quickly developed a following with the locals and drew the attention of major country music labels and released four albums through Arista Nashville and Lucky Dog Records under the original band’s lineup. Recorded while on a European tour in 1996 behind their self-titled debut album, this CD album, One Long Saturday Night, Plus features the original lineup at their absolute best.
Loose and free with the set list (not just playing what is featured on their first album), The concert featured 19 songs, many which they never released on an album until now. The record is a great partner to they band’s first major label release, the EP Live At Robert’s, but it most-certainly feels much more like what we might’ve heard had we wandered into Lower Broadway’s Roberts’ Western Wear to hear good ole country music, the kind of stuff that wasn't really heard on the radio in those days or even more so now. Also included (the “Plus” part) with this lovingly created project from Bear Family Productions are four songs recorded live at a festival in Kumamoto, Japan.
The band’s spirited take on classics like Ray Price’s “Heartaches By The Number,” Webb Pierce’s “I Ain’t Never,” Johnny Horton’s “Ole Slewfoot” and and Carl Perkins’ “Gone Gone Gone.” They are able to do western swing as well with “Right Or Wrong” and “Take Me Back To Tulsa,” both popular Bob Wills songs. Quite simply, BR5-49: One Long Saturday Night is a fantastic live recording and something that needs to be heard and seen (there is a DVD available of this show as well) to truly appreciate the kind of music the band created and that spirit of Roberts circa 1996 that the band took all over the world. In fact, you could say they were a perfect advertisement for Nashville’s bar district which has been revitalized into nearly a 24-7 365 tourist destination and has helped make Nashville one of the 10 most desirable cities to visit in all of the world for 2015/2016. That trend started 20 years ago when BR5-49 started exporting Nashville around the world with their spirited collection of country music (which includes the band’s own “Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts),” “My Name Is Mudd,” and “Hometown Boogie,” [a song previously unreleased]).
One Long Saturday Night, Plus (listen to the title track from the project here) is a delightful record. It’s a snapshot of a band in peak form touring the world as Nashville’s greatest ambassadors and perhaps the best album of the band’s entire career and if not for Bear Family Productions and Ohne Filter, this project wouldn't likely even exist.
The album features extensive liner notes from co-frontman Chuck Mead and photos from the band's performances and more. You can buy One Long Saturday, Plus here.
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