Old Dogs

 (49 customer reviews)

Well , they may be "Old Dogs " but Waylon Jennings , Bobby Bare , Jerry Reed and Mel Tillis are not geriatric has-beens ready for an old folks home or a bath chair...just yet . The four " Dogs " in conjunction with the writing talents of songwriter and poet Shel Silverstein is a tremendous combination , but why oh why did they mix in the "live in concert " deception which , in my opinion , does nothing for the album and had they performed "live" ,the audience reaction would have been at least as good and most probably better . All tracks are excellent but as usual , even on albums you enjoy , there are always a few tracks which you prefer and I am no exception . I really enjoy Shel Silverstein's humour and found " Cut The Mustard " to be hilariously brilliant in the context of the performers themselves . Bobby Bare's rendition of " She'd Rather Be Homeless " is perfectly delivered in just the right...Read more

What can ya say?You could say "Great!" and not be too far off th emark...Four superlative talents (up front) and another backstage supplying the material.I've been complaining about the way in which the true country greats have been shuffled offstage in favour of hats and light rock groups -- well, here are some of them and they're gonna explain it better than i can. Set back and listen.I have one semi-significant complaint; "Old Dogs" ("...can't learn new tricks/But they can still bury a bone...") and "Cut the Mustard" ("I ain't too old to cut the mustard, but I'm too tired to spread it around..." are basically the same song, and they are too close together. Otherwise, i'm happy to just listen from track one to track elevn nonstop.Waylon sings "I Don't Do It No More" -- about all of the things he's notorious for doing -- to excessive excess -- in his younger days, but has given up in his (tired)...Read more

On "Old Dogs", Nashville legends Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, Bobby Bare, and Jerry Reed enthusiastically celebrate the phenomenon of growing older. Singing songs that are funny yet sad, proud yet a little regretful, rollicking yet world-weary, these four good ol' boys gamely personify the lines:"Now I'm an old man tryin' to do a young man's job. Bouncin' round the room goin sha boom sha boom, hopin my heart don't stop. I'm too old for all this rock and roll, but I'm too damn vain to stop. I'm just an old man tryin' to do a young man's job."All eleven tracks express a bittersweet understanding of life not yet within the comprehension of country music's young bucks. Just listening to the marvelous lyrics composed by Shel Silverstein, you understand that these great performers - or at least the songwriter - have led full lives, and you, the listener, are being roundly entertained by the collective experience. Perhaps you have to be older and wiser yourself to...Read more