Coast to Coast

It's taken them three albums to shake their excessive campiness, self-conscious oldies re-creations, and uneven originals, but most of this live collection reflects a more mature, confident, and distinctive BR5-49. Along with a beefier rhythm section behind Gary Bennett and Chuck Mead's vocals, Don Herron's inspired choice to use his non-pedal steel as sort of a supercharged, slashing slide guitar alters the texture of their sound for the better. The witty "Better Than This" and "Waitin' for the Axe" reflect vastly improved in-house material, and that improvement extends to oldies as well. Compare the bonus track, a watery studio re-creation of the Farmer Boys' "You're a Hum-dinger," with their muscular live renditions of Gram Parsons's "Big Mouth Blues," Don Gibson's "Sweet, Sweet Girl," and Dave Dudley's trucker anthem "Six Days on the Road." Misfires include an incongruous revival of Charlie Daniels's incredibly dated 1973 hippie vs. redneck novelty "Uneasy Rider" and Bob Wills's "Brain Cloudy Blues," a well-chosen song undermined by a stiff, clumsy arrangement. Nonetheless, the fact that they've at last found their voice bodes well for the future. --Rich Kienzle