I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail

The importance of this album can't be overstated. Owens and Don Rich (along with Merle, but never mind that) pioneered the honky-tonk sound that influenced generations of country musicians, and nearly every song on this album has been covered many times over. One of the major issues with this album is that in almost every case, the covers are better than the originals. It speaks well of the songwriting that so many people wanted to sing these songs, but I can't help but think that an album with the best version of each song would be exponentially better. The other issue is that the audio production is downright awful. Much of the singing is distorted and occasionally gets drowned in the mix. The panning is all over the place, to the point of being distracting. I know they were still getting used to mixing boards in the 50s, but I don't think we should be grading this on a curve. Best track: Streets of Laredo

A lot of this sounded like a parody of a country album. Not for me I'm afraid

I felt like I had a tiger by the tail as I pressed play on the first song. While Buck Owens was able to sing out 32 minutes hanging onto that big cat, I wasn't so brave. Not a fan and shouldn't be on this list.

Buck Owens was a pioneer of the Bakersfield Sound and this album is a phenomenal example of it. Buck Owens is extremely expressive and melancholic which makes his music very effective. This album is essential for anyone who wants to understand the history of popular music.

I thought perhaps this was a joke...April Fools? How is anyone in this day & age finding this album enjoyable? Perhaps a redneck chicken pickin Trump supporter in the good ole U.S Of Aye...but nowhere else. I’ll give it 1 Star just for the giggle factor.

I have always wanted to get into country music and boy was that a treat

some things haven't aged well (wham bam thank you ma'am) but this album is a classic, buck and the band show a lot of range

Very simple, though the music is deceptively complex. Just a solid album that flies by at a clip 4/5

Buck Owens had his share of country hits prior to the release of I've Got a Tiger by the Tail and the hit single that spawned it. But "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" was Owens' national breakthrough, featuring everything right about his Bakersfield honky tonk sound sweated down to a 2:12 single that proved to be an irresistible piece of crossover magic to non-country fans without diluting his basic sound one iota. This 14-track LP brings together the original Capitol tracks from that album (which also included the hit "Cryin' Time," later to be a crossover hit of its own when recorded by Ray Charles), along with two extra tracks. These are live versions recorded in Bakersfield at the Civic Auditorium in October 1963 of "This Ol' Heart" and "Act Naturally," taken from the Capitol anthology album Country Music Hootenanny. The sound of Don Rich is all over this album, with his signature biting Telecaster guitar style, plus his vocalizing on "Wham Bam" (which features Owens on lead guitar) and a feature with Buck on a duet of Chuck Berry's "Memphis." Bass player Doyle Holly handles the vocal chores on "Streets of Laredo," while Don Rich's fiddle work is highlighted on the instrumental "A Maiden's Prayer." But ultimately it's Owens' show, with tracks like "Trouble and Me," "We're Gonna Let the Good Times Roll," "If You Fall Out of Love with Me," "The Band Keeps Playin' On," and the ballad "Let the Sad Times Roll On" being classic examples of Owens' Bakersfield honky tonk sound at the height of its freight-train rumbling powers.

"Put a quarter in the jukebox and let the sad times roll on!" While country music hasn't found it's way onto my playlists much for a few decades, I do believe I can tell good country music from bad. And Buck Owens is good (shame about Hee-Haw). As an added bonus for me, The Streets of Laredo is an eclectic outlier and I didn't realize until this listening, the connection with the Irish ballad popularized by Eric Bogle and The Pogues!

Absolutely 100% the kind of country music that I LOVE. That steel guitar is awesome. Buck having fun with his lyrics. Just excellent stuff. I feel like I've been too hyperbolic lately, and I can't see myself listening to this every day, so I'm going with 4 stars. In my heart right now it's a 5, but cooler heads must prevail.

Eugh I'm sorry but its all so samey. Affirming my confusing relationship with country. I just don't know how much I like it really, and that seems to be an unpopular opinion

Harmless toe-tappin' fun. If there was a prize for 'earliest mention of the album title within the album', this would win.

Oh no, oh no. Just no* *Selected tracks coming to a Quentin Tarantino film soon Let's not talk about this again, thankfully a mere 32 minutes of my life I won't get back.

I know that the 1001 list is very USA/UK-centered, but I must say that for each pair of country albums on the list, we can replace one of them (like this one) with almost ANY album by almost ANY artist from India, Nigeria, or South Africa, for example. I am keeping the list only of native-English speakers rather than thinking about other world music. I know the original book was unavoidably focused on the USA and UK since these countries gave us the majority of good albums worldwide, but the book was updated. The list includes even albums from 2022, so finding suitable replacements for hidden country albums should not be a real challenge. Despite the rant, this album is like any other country album that doesn't have any highlights or something to say anymore, and that was not as influential as any other country album (I must say that there are some excellent and influential country albums that I reaffirm, it's not the case here). The album is very outdated, even for 1965.

Its fun! Yea i like this Bakersfield sound. Good one two punch on this album. Yea this was a great honky tonk album

This kicked ass.

This good, old-timey country music was a good old time! I loved his original songs (title track), the classics "Streets of Laredo" and his take on Chuck Berry. I love the classic steel guitar sound. This was well worth pulling off a dusty shelf!

An excellent example of the early Bakersfield sound. Toe-tapping greatness.

The Bakersfield Sound at its finest. Buck brings so much energy and spirit to country-western music that you can't help but smile and want to dance with your best girl when he belts out his choruses.

Buck Owens - I've got a Tiger by the Tail Classic country music. Buck Owens is so good at what he does and his Buckaroos only make him better. The Bakersfield sound is alive and well on this album. It reminds me of my dad as this is the kind of country he'd listen to and sing along to. And on the song The Streets of Laredo, one of the Buckaroos come in with his deep bass vocals and it reminds me of my dad singing in church. Such a great memory. 5/5

Idk why I like it but I do

Full of the Bakersfield sound

I knew Buck Owens from Hee Haw and the Grand Ol' Opry, but have never sat and listened to one of his albums. I'm glad I have remedied that deficiency. This is great classic country performed by great musicians with great country themes. Lots of heartbreak, but nary a hint of gun violence or misogyny that seems to have become more common in later years. I have always loved the song "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail." It sounds as good as ever. "Trouble and Me" seemed familiar too - it's a great song! I liked the juxtaposition on side A of "Let the Sad Times Roll On" and side B "We're Gonna Let the Good Times Roll." Visiting all the emotional stops on this train! "Wham Bam" is a great song about staying single. Very clever chorus and a lot of fun! Other highlights I enjoyed included the deep bass vocal in "The Streets of Laredo." "A Maiden's Prayer" had great fiddling. And they did justice to "Memphis." The two extra live tracks were fine additions to the original album. "This Ol' Heart" and "Act Naturally" are great songs performed so well! I would have loved to have seen Buck perform live. Really fun listening to this - some good old fashioned country from a master who shows us how it's done!

Buck Owen’s is one of my favorites, love that Bakersfield sound!

I am now the guy Credence warned you about. A fantastic set of older country tunes.

My love for Buck Owens is an example of the full circle I’ve had with Country. Hee Haw was a Saturday evening staple in my house when I was a kid and I hated it. At the time it just seemed lame but I think maybe my subconscious knew that playing the South as full of Bumpkins was offensive. We’ve tackled the peculiar nature of Southern Pride elsewhere, but that’s certainly what I don’t like about the show and it’s legacy now. What I did enjoy as a kid were the musical guests. Basically anyone who was anyone in Country music did a performance on Hee Haw. It was hosted by Buck Owens and Roy Clark who would tell bad one liners dressed in overalls and straw hats. I didn’t realize as a kid that these guys were titans of Country Music. As I got older, I started to despise country because of Hee Haw, the conservative politics of the genre as a whole, and because I was ashamed of my heritage. Mind you, this was before I understood the systematic way racism was downplayed and further institutionalized in school. In college, the punk kids all respected Cash and the other outlaws and I started to reevaluate the genre as a whole. But even then it was another decade before I let my affinity for Country music (and R&B) be something I was comfortable enough to openly display and talk about. I’ve really come to know the Bakersfield sound in the last decade and have become obsessed with Owens, Haggard, and especially the songwriting of Harlan Howard. A lot of this comes from a tribute album by Vince Gill: www.allmusic.com Vince Gill, Paul Franklin - Bakersfield Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic Discover Bakersfield by Vince Gill, Paul Franklin released in 2013. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic. www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com Those old deep seated biases against Owens and the politics of Haggard late in his life kept me away from the music far too long. Fortunately my admiration for Gill as a guitarist (he’s a bit vanilla as a singer) changed that. What’s really interesting is when it came time to really start exploring Owens is just how much of this album I knew. Many of the songs like the title song and Streets of Laredo were burned into my brain from that younger age (and probably countless covers) and those earliest memories of actually enjoying the music before I allowed outside influences (including my Dad who displayed an open dislike of the “old timey” music, specifically Hank Williams and Bob Wills, that his dad had liked - which is a topic for another day as Bluegrass … through its first exposure to me in high school… would play its own role in me accepting my love of country music). This album has as much to do with the sub genre becoming popular as any other. Years before Outlaw became a crossover thing, Owens and the gang from California added rock to the country sound. This is its own cyclical thing in that both the Beatles and the Stones would play Bakersfield music which in turn influenced their sound and we know how influential both those acts were. It’s a great record and if you think you hate country music, you should maybe check that bias at the door before listening.

I don't even like country, but that was a very enjoyable album.

(5 stars) yasss country! and look at that album cover every song, im like, ok this one's my favorite aaaa it just keeps getting better and better!

Loved it!

Niezbyt czesty gosc na liscie, bo hamerykanie country i to jakie, jeden z najsolidniejszych materialow jaki slyszalem, ale tez nie slyszalem za duzo, a to dlatego ze prawie zawsze sa problemy z jakoscia takiej muzyki, jesli chodzi o strone techniczna, nagrywane w latach 60, przez artystow ktorzy w karierze wypuszczali XX albumow + XX singli, wiec nagrywane bylo to zazwyczaj na szybkosci, co nie zawsze idzie z jakoscia, a tak tutaj dzwiek jest tak czysty, zadnych trzaskow jakby nagrywany juz w erze digitala, wiec bardzo pozytywne zaskoczenie juz od sameo poczatku, ale na tym nie koncza sie dobrocie ktore sa zawwarte na tym 32 minutowym materiale, 14 trakow, wiec bardzo typowe countrowe 2 minutowe traki, ale jakie to jest country, dokladnie takie i jakim mysle o dzikim zachodzie, koniokradach, pladrowaniu wiosek i kowbojskim stuffie, a co tworzy ten unikalny efekt, podczas odsluchu dowiedzialem sie, ze jest to wykorzystanie beatu, nie wymyslnego jak w churchowych spiewach opartego na chorkowaniu, ale prosty beat lamany na 2-4 najczesniej, na pedale gitarkowym czy nawet naczyms swanym pedal steel guitar, co na polacki daje odmiane gitary hawajskiej, wlasnie ten beat buduje atmosfere po ktorej plynie pan Owens ze swoimi urzekajacymi wokalami, na najwiekszych kowbojskich szlagierach i kilku wlasnych kompozycjach, dwa traki sa spiewane przez innych czlonkow bandy, tutaj performens Doyla Hollyego zrobil na mnie najwieksze wrazenie na traku streets of laredo, ktory takze jest trakiem must have na plejke, dodatkowo tytulowy tygrysiak za ogon wlatuje

Hadn’t heard this since I was a little kid in Texas. Cute and historically noteworthy, but not my go to

I could listen to this album over and over again. A couple songs I’d skip, but almost every one is fantastic. On the other hand, my wife absolutely hated it and made me turn it off in the car.

Pulling the CCR album last week with Looking Out My Backdoor, which mentions Buck Owens, was a summoning ritual for him to appear this week. There’s nothing like a good ol steel guitar. Which made me realize that people our age might like the steel guitar because of…SpongeBob. Of all things. Anyways this was surprisingly enjoyable front to back. Simple, compact, easy country listening

I got so hyped to see an old country album on here, more please! I'm not sure I've heard Buck Owens (or his Buckaroos) before, but the title track is a certified banger. Lots of other great tunes on here too. I love the vocal performance on "Streets of Laredo," it sounds like a completely different person. This is basically an emo album. I'm realizing that most classic country singers latch on to heartbreak and cry about it as loudly and melodramatically as possible. I dig it. Great job, Buck. Born in Sherman too, what a world! Favorite tracks: I've Got a Tiger by the Tail, Streets of Laredo, Let the Sad Times Roll On, Cryin' Time. Album art: Just your typical portrait cover from the '60s, nothing unique aside from the bedazzled white leather jacket. Also that stencil font makes me laugh. 4/5

If you applied nudge theory to a music shop and I was the target audience, you'd put cornball country wearing a semi-respectable suit at eye-level right before the checkout. In other words, I liked it. Not one of the 1,001 best albums ever, but an important artist from the non-album era, so worth including. And for that reason, I'm rating it high.

Some pleasant and simple little country ditties. Didn’t out stay it’s welcome or get upon my titties.

Before listening: Man could inhale a car with that schnoz. After listening: Man could inhale a car with that schnoz and also this album is pretty good.

Bland C&W: songs are pretty basic and I don't like his voice very much. Could be a collection of second-choice selections for a Tarantino soundtrack. This Bakersfield sound is better than Korn, but not by much

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that the past was a time of higher moral standards, especially when Buck Owens was out there in 1965 signing about how he’s gonna hit it and quit it on a song like “Wham Bam”.

This album physically transported me back to when I was 13 and wore crocs to the Country To Country music festival at the O2 with my aunt and grandparents. Country Bear Jamboree energy but instead I wanted to punch them all.

Buck Owens is a horrible racist. Do not listen to his twisted tales and disgusting view of society. Despicable little man.

wham bam thank you ma'am!

Endlessly and effortlessly entertaining from the second it starts to the second it ends. Amazing joyful live version of Act Naturally at the end.

Owens is one of the most influential country musician & I have him to thank for inspiring some of my favorite artists (Dwight Yoakam, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones to name a few). This album has classic 60s country tunes along with the beginnings of rock n roll. Act Naturally has been a favorite for years & throughly enjoyed this album. I'm adding it to my country music rotation.

A surprise to be sure. Was not sure what genre this was going to be or that I would enjoy it so much. Goes back to the sentiment that I like country music, just not the modern, pop-country that seems to be the most popular version. Music is fun, lyrics are easily able to connect, musicianship is skilled. Overall an enjoyable and diverse album. A foot tapper if I say so!

Yeehaw

I love Buck Owens! Enjoyed thus with my daughter!

From when Country wasn't pop.

Great country record.

I've lived in Texas my whole life, so I've been exposed to a lot of country music, often against my own will. My parents went on a big country music kick in the mid-nineties, and I hated it, but I've since grown to appreciate country music from that era. I still can't stand the post-9/11 jingoistic bullshit though, and frankly all of that stuff should be launched into the sun. However, I've wanted to listen to more country music from the sixties and seventies, since I'm not familiar with a lot of it, and I know nothing about Buck Owens, so I'm really keen to listen to this album. I thought this album was absolutely fantastic. The songwriting was my favorite part of the album, but I loved the 'Bakersfield sound' aspect of the arrangements as well. The songwriting was simple, but I loved its succinctness and clever lyrics. The lyrical themes of love and heartbreak were what I would expect from a country music album from this era, but I enjoyed the way they were sung about. This sort of emotion and realism is what I love about albums like this. "Wham Bam" is certainly a bit crass, even by today's standards, but it's hilarious, and I loved it. "Trouble and Me" was great too, and serves as some great foreshadowing for the outlaw country music that would emerge in the next decade. Musically, this album was great as well. I loved the twang of the guitars, the fiddle playing, and the pedal steel guitar. The instrumentation on this album managed to compliment the mood of the lyrics perfectly, especially on the sad and sombre songs. "Memphis" was the opposite though, but I loved the upbeat sound that really leaned into that rockabilly sound. I don't understand the hate this album gets, because I thought it was amazing, and I had a blast listening to it. I loved it for a lot of the same reasons that I loved the Loretta Lynn album that I reviewed, and I'm looking forward to the few other country albums that are left for me to review. If you're reading this review, give this album a chance, and I think you'll enjoy it too.

That Bakersfield sound!

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If you come out of this album thinking you still hate all country, idk what to tell you. This is fucking fantastic. Such a breath of fresh air getting an album with killer lyrics and storytelling. And the band plays so tight throughout. Buck Owens has a great voice. I think my favorite is "Wham Bam" featuring Buck's best delivery and the best line on the album "First thing is matrimony Next thing is alimony" Love this album. This is going up there on my list

Fucking wicked. What a rollicking album this is. Fuck me. Stunning.

My 100th album! Whoooo. This was fun. I love that Buck Owens sound. And he’s such a scamp. Not all my favorite versions of these songs but they’re all great. Songs added to Spotify: 2 Let the times roll, good or sad, your choice.

Premium country music. It's such a fun listen.

Very fun album! I enjoyed a lot of the songs.

country clasikisimo de este de beber moonshine que te deja ciego de un tarro. Muy bien y muy buen tonge roll por parte del artista

“First comes matrimony then comes alimony” some of the best country pickin in the world!

This has been one of my favorites for a long time. Always love me some Buck Owens!

Brilliant playing, solid songcraft. Having grown up with Hee Haw on television, I knew he was skilled but this album demonstrated the Bakersfield Sound eloquently.

Great

This was the #1 country album in 1965. A lot of rockers were paying attention and we had the birth of country rock. (Even if rock kind of started in country.)

Love, love, 💕 Buck Owens! Love old country!

Very well executed country music. Nice little stories in many of these songs and masterful guitar accompaniment. The playing was never too much or too little.

Classic shit

Always wanted to try listening to country but didn't know where to start. This was a great introduction. Short and heartfelt songs could be covered by punk bands

Beautiful

This album almost makes me okay with the existence of Bakersfield.

ihaaaa

Yee-haw!

Short, straight-forward, simple country, to the point. But when I mean "simple" I mean basic and no-frills. I'm not trying to put down the music when I say "basic", but it's not showy or anything like that. But even so, it still has to be catchy and good, right? Surprise there are some tunes that are here (unless, you know, you are not a country fan...) If you're not into country this would not be that great. And fortunately it's only about 30 minutes. Tacking on "Act Naturally" to the album was probably a good idea if you didn't know much about him. I have to wonder if "Wham Bam" was the first inference of "Wham Bam, thank you ma'am" put to music, and if so did Bowie get it from that for "Suffragette City"? Interesting to hear where so much of rock, country and the rest would come from by listening to this. When I was a kid I was not a big fan of country, but growing older I have learned to appreciate the classic artists: Nelson, Cash... So this grew on me pretty quickly. It should for you, too.

Pretty soliiiid

It's good but not my cup of tea

Dig it. Like a more C&W Roger Miller and, to a lesser extent, John Prine. That kinda fun, light-hearted song writing.

J.aimme le cou try et j’au de la misere a dinner une mauvaise bote. C’est aussi bon que les bon albums de country que j’ai 3coute. 4*

Alright, Bakersfield, I'll give you this.

Buckaroo gettin' busy. 4 stars for the sexy time.

I love this, call it my Hee Haw heritage I don’t care. There’s a couple very dreary same-y sad songs that do drag things down a bit. Also I love the live cut of Act Naturally but i do have to confront that that’s not on the original album. So it’s tough… but whatever YEEHAW Best song: Wham Bam

Good ol’ classic country.

Very fun album.

Nothing exceptional within the genre but every song is super catchy and friendly for listening. Enjoyable short listen.

8/10 super fun album the first half is mostly silly, goofy songs and then the second half gets woeful as fuck Wham Bam is my new theme song

Great album. Listened to a lot of Roger Miller growing up, and Buck is definitely a contemporary of Roger.

Great tunes

Not my favorite style of old school country but this guy is pretty rad.

As I walked out in the streets of Laredo As I walked out in Laredo one day I spied a young cowboy all wrapped in white linen Wrapped in white linen as cold as the clay Honky. Tonk. Its a good album, and a good representation of the genre. 4/5

Love how he links emotion with physical sensation on most of these some gems include: the double whammy on the first track where he catches a tiger by the tail, one verse he’s “losing weight and looking mighty pale, another he’s as useless as a lead in a gale” then there’s the song where his head starts rocking and knees start knocking when he sees his lady and also the one where the faraway look in his partner’s eyes is an omen for her leaving (I bet Bruce Springsteen heard this before he wrote ‘I’m Goin’ Down’). His honky tonk reminds me of Amy Allison, I bet she dug him and alt-ed up his drawl. Great record.

Country

Catchy tunes but was a bit much after 32 minutes.

The best kind of country music

Nice little country album

Thoroughly enjoyed this record, and we have to give credit to Buck Owens (and his wife Bonnie Owens???) for giving us the classic 'Wham Bam'. Not a lot of sincere emotions on this, but the tunes are catchy and fun.

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A quintassential album for old-school country and the general boot-scooting, honkey tonk sound that defined the early mainstream acceptance of this music. Owens uses his personality to come off as personable, relatable, but also memorable as he sets the mood and scene around his "experience". Owens sold this image and marketed it to the masses, leading to the genre and identity that so many future generations followed.

Even though I'm not a big fan of country music, I would say this record has something magical in it. The "American roots" mood really got me and I almost felt as I was in Memphis while listening to this album. Highlights: I've Got a Tiger By the Tail, Trouble and Me, Memphis

Pleasantly surprised by this one. Old style country doesn’t always appeal to me but the lyrics were good and it wasn’t too much a caricature of country either.

I liked this. It was simple and nice. I don't really know Country, but I would like to call his Classic Country.

God I love honky-tonk. 4