Difficult Listening 21 - Lubbock On Everything

LUBBOCK (ON EVERYTHING) - Terry Allen, Fate Records 33996, 1978, two-record gatefold jacket.
JUAREZ - Terry Allen, Fate Records 1394, 1981 re-issue of 1975 original.

This is Texas music. It just may not be quite what you expect from Texas honky tonk but it is pure Texas honky tonk none the less. There is really nothing difficult about it. Well, at least LUBBOCK is full of charming ditties about Texas, art, human relationships, and the failure of the ego as a safe refuge. JUAREZ requires a bit more of a commitment. Often cited as one of the earliest "outlaw country" records, it is a concept album telling the hard luck story of a Southwestern scofflaw - kind of like a Peckinpaw western movie for the blind.

These were the first two albums of Terry Allen's career. He has made many and is still producing fine music.