Shaver "The Earth Rolls On" New West Records-NW6025
	by Michael Johnson

	An artist, regardless of his medium, if he is to be considered worth a damn, regularly places himself in the precarious position of having his innermost thoughts and feelings exposed to public view. On "The Earth Rolls On", Billy Joe Shaver goes the extra mile, seemingly ripping open his chest and yelling, "Here! Look at my ol' heart!" He's been doing it for over thirty years. The third Shaver album on Steve Earle and Ray Kennedy's New West label, "The Earth Rolls On" finds Shaver moving effortlessly between genres- from rock to blues to folk to bluegrass to country. The fourteen tracks were recorded at Room and Board Studios in Nashville, and produced by Kennedy. Kennedy's goal was to produce "a vintage garage-band crunch" sound, using tube mics and recording to analog tape. No preservatives or artificial ingredients here! The resulting sound fits the material perfectly. Kennedy beefed up the musicianship by calling upon brilliant bassman Garry Tallent, of The E Street Band, and Jay Bennett(B3 organ) and Ken Coomer(drums) of Wilco. These guys, along with Eddy Shaver's usual masterful electric, slide and acoustic guitar, Doug Lancio on electric and acoustic guitar, Kenny Vaughan on acoustic guitar, Greg Morrow on drums, James Pennebaker on fiddle, and Kayton Roberts on steel guitar, make for some powerful sounds. Kennedy himself joined in on mandolin, percussion, piano, Mini Moog, and acoustic guitar. With the opening track, the upbeat rocker 'Love Is So Sweet', Billy Joe introduces himself: I been around this world a long time, mister I got a thang or two to say. Don't wanna bore you with no tough tongue twisters You wouldn't buy that anyway. Billy Joe does have "a thang or two to say", and he says them, regardless of how painful or personal they might be. The lyrically beautiful 'Evergreen Fields', originally written over thirty years ago as a folk song, has been transformed into a slow rocker, with Eddy adding a cool guitar solo.The honky-tonkin' 'Hard headed Heart' is followed by the bluegrass 'New York City Girl', That brings us to the "Restless Wind". You know, there are probably about a million "ramblin' guy" country songs, but this one is brilliant. A stone thrown from heaven, skippin' 'cross the water With disappearin' ripples left behind. A book with no cover, a rhyme with no reason. Guess I'll always be one of the rovin' kind. 'Cause movin's in my soul, I guess a gypsy gotta hold Of somebody in my family long ago. And if some night while half-asleep You hear the back door softly squeak You'll touch my empty pillow and you'll know. Shaver's ability to take such overworked country subject matter and write something fresh and interesting is just more evidence that he is one of our most gifted songwriters. 'Sail of My Soul', a rousing blues number, is followed by the painful 'You're Too Much For Me', one of several songs on the album which Billy Joe wrote about the often tumultuous relationship with his son, Eddy, who died December 31, 2000, not long after recording for "The Earth Rolls On" was completed. 'Blood Is Thicker Than Water', which was originally to be the title track, includes the only duet ever recorded by Billy Joe and Eddy. It also contains lyrics that will tear your heart out, as father and son trade punches: You come dancin' in here with the devil's daughter. Spillin' beer and doin' thangs you hadn't oughter. You found her walkin' the streets a carryin' a sack of quarters. Now she's stealin rings off the hands of your dyin' mother. If that witch don't leave I believe I'm gonna have to he'p her. Don't you know that blood, blood is thicker than water Eddy counters with: Can't you see I'm down to the ground? I can't get no lower. I've seen you pukin' out your guts and runnin' with sluts when you was married to my mother. Now the powers that be are leadin' you and me like two lambs to the slaughter. I need a friend. I'm your son and you're always gonna be my father. Don't you know that blood, blood is thicker than water... I've probably listened to this song thirty times, and it still amazes me. Even if you know nothing about the relationship of these two men, it is still a very strong track. Knowing that the story is true makes it almost overpowering. 'Star In My Heart' was written for Eddy while he was undergoing drug treatment. 'It's Not Over Till It's Over' , which seems to be a lecture about hurting a lover, has some great slide guitar by Eddy and Jay Bennett's Vox organ accompaniment sounds like something from a sixties rock song- a very cool sound. 'Hearts A' Bustin', well...You can figure that one out. 'Leavin Amarillo' proves that all of Shaver's songs aren't sad. But don't get too comfortable. 'I Don't Seem To Fit Anywhere' is a no frills acoustic number with Billy Joe again sharing some of his innermost feelings. The lyics, like the simple acoustic accompaniment, are lean and touching: Just like this old rockin' chair, I move but I'm getting' nowhere. A junked out old casin', Too worn from the wear, Too thin to be used as a spare. My dreams of a lifetime are gone. Old friends that I once counted on. Nobody quite got the drift of my songs. Like me they're a bit overdone. And I don't seem to fit anywhere... The title track, which Billy Joe wrote for his wife Brenda who died in 1999, is, to use a much overworked term, haunting. The earth rolls on Even though you're gone The earth rolls on, and on, and on... If Eddy Shaver had done nothing else musically, his guitar solo on 'The Earth Rolls On' would be enough to gain him a reputation as one of the elite guitar slingers. But, as good as Eddy was, on this album he is just part of the band- an important part- but just a part. The star of this show is the songwriting genius of his father. I don't know Billy Joe Shaver. I've talked to him twice in the last thirty years, and he certainly doesn't know who I am. I don't have his home phone number and I don't hang out with him, but from listening to his songs, I probably know more about him than I know about most of my closest family members. He tells me everything. He tells me what makes him happy and what makes him hurt. He'll tell you, too, if you'll listen. This is probably the last "Shaver" album, but I don't think it will be the last Billy Joe Shaver album. Writing and singing songs is what Billy Joe Shaver was put on earth to do. It is what he does to cope with life and loss. He'll keep on doing it because, like all great artists, he has no choice. He HAS to.

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