Honky Tonk Masquerade

Boxcars is a jam

Sounded like generic country music to me. Nothing super appealing about it. Except "Fingernails", that was a fun surprise.

Joe Ely is pretty good, but I find he lacks a certain gentle touch to the finer aspects of country. Every song lacks the proper dynamism to make me fully enjoy them. That said, there's nothing explicitly wrong with this album. It's well-performed and a fun choice for social functions.

Du country rock bien correct. Bien exécuté mais rien de marquant, je n'y reviendrai probablement jamais. 5/10

Not a traditional country guy but this one was better than the "new country" for sure.

I had never heard this album, or even heard OF this album, before this. Its pretty good! It certainly makes a good primer for the sounds of country music and has some nice country-to-rock bridges, along with some southern zydeco sounds. Not a perfect album or anything, but definitely worth a listen. 4/5

Album was an easy listen. Good story telling, good voice, nice mix of ballads,twang and rock n roll.

Ya gotcherself two kindsa country music. There's yer moonshine swigging, pork 'n beans, bare-knuckle boxin', rootin' tootin' country, and there's yer studded cowboy boots, F1 cars and fried food at the rodeo country. I tend to lean towards the former myself, but ol' Joe here makes country of the latter variety. He does do some interesting things with it, "Boxcars" is a nice example of pushing the boundaries of commercial country, and his guitar playing is decent, but for the most part the misses outnumber the hits. 2 cornbread moons out of 5 🌕🌕

Great Country!!! Impressive.

Standouts: Boxcars 3.5

Americans love this glossy soulless country bollocks. Vapid nonsense that sounds the same as every other country twangy album. Nope.

"Honky Tonk Masquerade" is the second album by American country singer-songwriter Joe Ely. The genre listed is country rock. Yeah, but there's a lot more going on as well. Ely sings and plays acoustic guitar. There's also slide guitar, electronic guitar, piano, synths and an accordion. Commercially, this did not do very well but was, critically, highly regarded. "Cornbread Moon" opens things up with an acoustic guitar, slide guitar, drums and an accordion. This is bouncey. Ely has got a little twang. This actually sound like zydeco. I'm on board. "Boxcars" takes it in rock direction. Hey, an electric guitar and accordion solo. And, the songs ends with a searing guitar solo. We need more songs about trains especially if they sound like this. "Honky Tonk Masquerade" has a slide guitar and piano. Backing vocals. This is country and a very nice sounding song. The first single "Fingernails" sounds like a 50/60's pop song. A jump-jiven piano. A sax added. It's peppy. Alright. We couldn't have a country album without a waltz? Could we? No! "West Texas Waltz" takes us there. More slide guitar and accordion. And it rocks out at the end. This is a very enjoyable album. It's got a lot of variety with zydeco, country, rock and pop. The musicianship especially the guitarists is great. It is absolutely in the alt-country genre ten years before the genre. A solid recommendation.

this album is easy to listen, very country-like. Would listen to it again!

Horrendous, it would get a zero if that was an option

I can't believe I was actually expected to listen to this awfulness

The nice thing about this is the sweet spot between rock and roll (Fingernails) and country (Honky Tonk Masquerade). The other thing is that it's not that distinctive. I can see why he went on tour with The Clash, and enjoyed listening, but no real desire to add to playlist. Also very short and sharp. Sidebar: some of these tracks have 3,000 spotify streams. Even notorious 1001-ers like Kollaps and Duck Stab/Buster and Glen have streams in the many 10,000's - making him I guess one of the most obscure artists on this list.

В Стара Загора като се кажело за нещо "Това е много кънтри" значело ще е мега тъпо :D

Not bad but country

Liked some of it. True country sound.

Texas country with a rock influence - particularly in the rhythm section. Great guitars: delicate crystaline steel string acoustics, twangy as hell tele sounds, gorgeous lapsteel and slide solos. The vocals are classic semi-nasal country baritone with the odd yodel and some close harmonies thrown in - lively, engaging, and well suited to the melodies. The titular honky tonk comes mostly from the pianah-based tracks like Fingernails that are just basic I-IV-V blues tunes played fast with a twangy vocal. I could do without the frequent accordian parts with make a lot of the arrangements sound like really corny fake Irish folk music. 4 pretty great tracks, a bit of filler, and 2 pretty bad ones. Favorites: Because of the Wind, Jericho, Downtown, Masquerade

All those times I said I liked "anything but country and rap", turns out I was lying.

Country

Not great, not terrible. I will probably forget this one.

very country

Inoffensive honky tonk country.

Good album. I prefer my boy Dwight Yoakam, but still good.

They’re a few cool tracks on here. Boxcar has this fuzzy, almost kazoo like guitar sound, that has a rocking’ solo at the end. Fingernails is super fun to sing along to. Overall it’s a bit flat, but a few cool songs.

Not alt enough.

What in the west Texas hell is this

Not good.

So much fun

definitely some honky tonk shit to be had here. i enjoyed!

An inoffensive album with a few fun moments. I had a longer review and then the site reloaded and it all disappeared. Horrible. Favorites: Boxcars (a fun song!!), Cornbread Moon, I'll Be Your Moon Evil lyrics: Fingernails Everything else was like. Fine. Some truly cheesy moments of 70s rock instrumentation, but otherwise it's the kind of album that I would never put on but wouldn't notice playing in a public space.

Didn’t think I would enjoy this but it’s awesome!

I was disappointed when I saw another country album in my list. Fortunately, I was wrong. There’s something about this work that connected with me. I think it is the production: sound palette and chord progressions, that impressed me. Later I found that The Clash included Joe in one of their American tours as an opening act. Maybe not the wisest decision, but I can definitely see why they put their eye on him. Good country record.

This was...alright. Not my first choice of music, but wasn't necessarily bad. I am also not sure why this is significant enough to be on the list?

shove it up yer bollocks.

Probably shit

Kinda boring country. Definitely better than some country, but nothing I would say I liked. First song had me a little hopeful, but the rest wasn't as good. My favourite song was Cornbread Moon.

Crazy that this has virtually no streams on spotify but made it on this list. It was a good album! Singing about Texas in that era is not really my jam but ofc there is some pretty awesome country guitar playing on this record with tons of great pedal steel moments and also just some wild country licks. Really quite impressive. The lyrical content and even song structure was not very exciting for me though. I wont give it something less than a 3 though, it's just not for me but it is good for what it is!

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, the country twang and the guitar solos were surprisingly good! Fun morning listen for me Stand out was fingernails for me, I was v amused by it

2/10, 20%

had some cajun themes liked it overall but prolly not gonna come back for any listens

Good

Þetta gerir nákvæmlega ekkert fyrir mig.

I knew I was in for a slog with a title like 'Honky Tonk Masquerade'. I try to be an open church. I'm accepting of most musical styles ... but I do struggle with Country and Western. I got through the album. It's not my thing.

Pierwsza całkiem niezła, dalej nope

i don’t know what it means about me that i actually prefer this kind of country song then influential rock n roll like bob and jimi…i accidentally gave jimi only 2 which i feel bad about, it should have been a 3/4. i like this quite a lot and could listen to more of him, my results will be skewed, i wanna give a 4 but that’s too high, so it’s gonna have to be a 3.

Who would have thought honky tonk would benefit so much from a moog?

A little too Honky Tonk for my liking personally, but not bad, just a lot.

Very nice folk~

A thoughtful take on core country, doing what it’s always doing by figuring out how to look back just right. Mostly it succeeds, though not always (“Fingernails” wtf). His voice isn’t beautiful or memorable or ugly enough to be great, and neither are the songs. It’s probably one of the best country albums of its year or several years, though I doubt that’s saying much. I’d like to hear it at least once more. Can’t hold a candle to Lucinda Williams.

This was super fun, wish it had a few more moments like the opening of the first track, but because it’s such a tight, manageable length—about 33 minutes—it will be easy to revisit. I might even do it today! I am of course biased because country rock and honky tonk are more in my wheelhouse than boomer rock, which is the majority of what I’ve gotten so far. That being said, I am unfamiliar with Mr Ely and will have to explore more. A breath of fresh air. Great lyrics, right band. Good album.

Jos olisin kuunnellu ajellessani Hiluxilla pohjois-pohjanmaalla oisin antanu viis tähteä

tähän larppiin mä en pysty

Very good. I’ll need to explore some more of his work

Southern country bar music, not my thing

It's solid. Not really much more to say, just that I enjoyed it. "Fingernails" is a weird song topic though, right? Call it a 3.5, anyway. Favorite tracks: "Boxcars", "Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown"

Nice songs, but nothing out there. I couldn't be caught dead listening to this album lmao

Love the sound, makes me wanna boogie.

Love me some good old fashioned country.

Música country tradicional. Voz asociada al género. Sin nada que le haga diferente al resto.

Honky tonk C&W. Can't really think of a genre I would dislike more. However its short and well produced. Not for me but a 3 down the middle.

Hey, maar dit is echt kut zeg!

Mij is volstrekt onduidelijk waarom ik dit voor mijn dood gehoord moet hebben.

Om mijn lieftallige echtgenote te quoten: 'Dit is gezapig as fuck'.

Blaah, melkonen rosvosektori työpäivän taustamusaksi. Ehkä tällekin vois löytyä oma aika ja paikka.

Meh, nää kantrihommat on jo kyllä kuultu

Not my usual cup of tea but on my second listen I found more to like about it. I couldn't comment on how it sounded when it was released but some songs sounded quite bold. My standout track was, by FAR, the most listened to on the album according to Spotify. Standout Track: Boxcars

Songs.

Not really the kind of country that I enjoy but I need to give it more listens to really see if its for me. After all the Clash loved Joe Ely so I should give them as much rope as I can. 3 stars

This is the most mid album ever. It’s not good, but at the same time it’s not bad.

This is actually a really great country album - especially for 1978. It seems a little ahead of it's time in some ways. Obviously, there were other country icons at the time, but this has some mid-80s, early-90s country vibes as well. Plus, the horns on Cornbread Moon, that lead guitar tone on Boxcars, and the general "groove" of Jericho were really unique for this genre. Joe Ely gets a bump.

Not my thing honestly. A little fun to listen to but not something I'd choose to unless I was at a cowboy bar.

No where near our last album but still pretty good. Felt like an early dose of that "Honky tonk" that so many country singers talk about.

Eh. Honky tonk is right, and while I'm usually all in favor of a departure, this one didn't take me someplace I enjoy. Instead I was in a bar with a loud guy performing songs too lively for the hour. Not bad music per se, but one trick pony if you ask me. A couple I enjoyed (and I love the song about going downtown, I refuse to believe that isn't innuendo), but overall, bit of a dud for me. Favorite tracks: Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown, Boxcars. Album art: I swear I'd seen this before, or maybe something just like it, but I thought it was for some Americana rock act. Definitely wasn't this guy that I heard. It's a pretty decent pic, as far as band pics/portraits go. But not much to talk about. 2.5/5

easy listening, not my jam

Eh, it was ok. Catchy songs, playful (sometimes questionable) instrumental (shout out to the slide guitar), but not the best lyric wise. A bunch of lyrical cliches. It’s not bad necessarily, but there is room for improvement.

Was not expecting a lot from this. But it really caught me off guard in a good way. Boxcars is a legit banger and many of the other tracks had be stopping to listen. This record is short, Texas and the perfect bridge between the 70's and 80's. It FEELS like the 80's. And I really enjoyed it.

Not really my thing, definitely won't revisit. 2.5

Tout est dans le titre. Une vraie mascarade. Comme 80% des albums de ce générateur.

Un bel album de country bien ringard bien Robert

Decent country

some not exciting country

Another meh and slightly corny country album.

Good lord, no thanks

best country music. still only a 3

4 Man honky-tonk just got something

2.5

2.5 Honkytonk is not a favorite of mine.

Midt på 3

Solid album. 10 tracks, 34 minutes. Get in, take care of business, get out. I don't listen to much C&W, so it's hard to tell if this is great. But this is pretty good.

Trash

Hard no! Beyond not my thing. I heard he opened for The Clash on a few dates and was spit on and punks threw beer at him. I would have been one of those punks that would have thrown beer if I was at that show.

Pleasant enough honky tonk 70s country. I enjoy a bit of honky tonk now and then, and the production on this album was great. Overall not super memorable but I liked it.

Fuck off. No more country. Let's be real here - NOBODY listens to country music. We should stop treating it like a major music genre. It makes a lot of money? It's a huge industry? Third most popular genre in America? Nope. All fake. Conspiracy. Money laundering. Paid actors. Thought this book was British. There's really no need to pretend you care about this, Robert Dimery.

Leans into Texas twang and mostly makes it work. Favorite: Boxcars. Too much: I'll Be Your Fool, West Texas Waltz

Liked it! Just the right rythm for a Sunday morning 🥰

Positively surprised by this one for sure. My main issues with old country music in general would be weak musicianship and uninteresting songwriting. On this album, musicianship is actually quite impressive. Joe Ely's vocals are solid and the guitar-playing is fantastic throughout. Songwriting does remain uninteresting - but still good enough to make this a very enjoyable album.

A bit of honky tonk country. Nothin bad, nothin groundbreaking.

This was ok, didn't fully do it for me though. Call it a 2.5.

Honky Tonk is the worst combination of words known to man

Urgh. Country. I guess if you like country, this might not be irredeemable pap. Unfortunately, for normal people, this is irredeemable pap.

I liked fingernails

Honky as well as tonky providing some nice padding to my rough country bar playlist

Some of these songs were silly! Good honky tonk action

Well done for its genre.

Hated this. Bottom 10 for me.

Music to tap all eleven of your toes to 👍🏾

I don’t mind blue grass/ country music and this was alright but didn’t make me want to listen again so a harsh 2*

Fairly bog standard country.

Downloaded one song - Honky Tonkin’. Like country and this era but didn’t find too much on this album that caught my attention. Might see if he has anything else that I might like. I checked and did not find anything.

Surprisingly enjoyable!

A well produced album with a blend of americana and a lot more depth than a typical country album.

Decent but ultimately uneventful country, album

What's the opposite of ASMR? Fingernails and the slide guitar in Because of the Wind are so bad they'd make baby jesus cry. I did enjoy Boxcars tho.

This is my second country album in a row, and much like that Dwight Yoakam opus, I find this reasonbly pleasant to listen to, but I don't really find myself able to appreciate its significance. Some of this is just not having the context for that was happening in country at the time. It's possible that a lot of country that I've listened to is aping this sound, and that's why it doesn't mean much to me. Either way, it's nice enough, but I'm never planning on coming back to this album 3/5

not my favorite kind of country

This album had shades of what would become progressive/alt-country within a honky tonk framework. This album is so strikingly different from its contemporaries that I’m finding myself wanting to dig into Joe Ely more.

It's funny, I really love alt-country, contemporary folk and Americana type music like Steve Earle, Justin Townes Earle, Lucinda Williams, The Be Good Tanyas, Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, etc. It's some of my favorite music. But there is a fine line between those genres and more traditional country. I can't quite put my finger on what makes something one or the other, but something about more traditional country I just don't care for. This is better than most, but it still falls into that more traditional category to me. 3 stars.

I’m not a country fan, but this album slaps. I could definitely see myself listening to more from this artist. 4/5

It's OK for a country album. The outro of Boxcars rocks.

Last night I saw Lee Kernaghan perform during the halftime show of the Len Hall tribute match, which is an annual fixture marking the life of a great west Aussie on ANZAC Day. Ahead of the match we pay our respects, we witness the rites remembrance, we hold our respectful silence and we sing the anthems. A little bit of football later and Optus Stadium transforms into a shimmering disco ball of iPhone camera flashes, with the centrepiece of the spectacle being a guitar-toting Australian man standing on the 50 yard line and sporting the most brazenly honky tonk accent imaginable, reeling off hack vignettes of cliches he’ll invariably christen “Australian Boy” at each verse’s terminus. The whole thing was so remarkably incongruous: the reverence, the reflection, the release of the sport, the really fucking crap patriotic bumper sticker of a song. Anyway. It’s from the seeds planted by Joe Ely that mighty oaks like Lee could grow. Or something like that. Whatever it is – a couple of spins around Honky Tonk Masquerade and I didn’t once want to do a little sick in my mouth, so I’m assuming I either missed the insipid lyrical themes – e.g. the offensively narrow distillation of an entire country’s identity to three pretty shit activities – or there’s more to Ely than there is 99% of his contemporaries. I don’t think I missed anything. Ely is simply a cut above. From the racing verses of “Cornbread Moon” to the guitars in “Boxcars”, the choruses of “Jericho…” and yodelling of “I’ll be your fool” – this is an album that could organise mist into a line dance formation. Surely the best of its breed.

If I'm at your place and you unironically put this stuff on, I will straight up think less of you as a human being. It's vapid, uninspiring and there is absolutely nothing at stake here. Unless, of course, you are lighting up the dancefloor with your honky tonk - in which case, carry on!

Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my chaps and cowboy boots.

Anything that uses the phrase ‘honky tonk’ is never going to be for me, but the first half of this album was actually pretty darn good - the straight/swing switch-ups of the opener were fun, the production was solid and it was overall a good listen. Unfortunately everything after the title track was garbage

Non male interessante simpatico

Standard chord structures, predictable lyrics, nothing to see here.

Ahead of its time. This sounds like a mid80s classic country album. Great smooth country with just a little twang. Standouts: Boxcars, Tonight I Think I’m Going to Go Downtown, Honky Tonk Masquerade, Damn Good! 3.5/5

Un buen álbum de country, pero nada fuera de lo común. Quizás un tanto innovador en la producción, sobretodo para 1978, adelantando un poco las tendencias de lo que serían los ‘80s para la música norteamericana.

Genres: Country rock Formed: 1977 (solo) Run time: 10 songs, 33 min, 32 sec The second album by the singer-songwriter. Spotify: Least popular song: <2000 Most popular song: almost 389k plays. Seven of the ten tracks have less than 5k plays on Spotify. Ely does a great job of painting a picture with his lyrics. The songs are often mournful and a little whimsical. The general theme is that of dealing with life’s struggles. The songs are OK but they don’t stand out against any of the other country artists then or now. Listen Again?: No My Rating: **

Ah man, this is pretty shit to me. I feel like there's a fair reason why I had never heard of Joe Ely before... I prefer Country music from women artists so I didn't have high hopes but there's nothing really interesting, inspiring or captivating from this album. I find the melodies cheesy and not in a good way, the lyrics aren't speaking to me either. This song Fingernails is particularly disturbing and makes me feel a little bit sick hahaha. Overall, not impressed.

I found this very beige and quite irritating tbh! Not my bag at all. Very repetitive in style.

Not great. I don't mind country when it's got a bit of pazzazz but this was boring. In fact, one good song came on and I thought 'oh this is pretty good' then looked and the album had finished and it was playing someone else haha

(audible sigh) I suppose it wasn’t that bad, and it was a shortish album making it less of a chore. 2.5 stars.

Kudos for being the boppiest and most interesting country album I have ever heard since "Honky Tonk Heroes".

Fine album by country standards, wasn't wowed but also didn't hate it and dug a few of the tracks. Perhaps the most median album of the project so far - I have no strong opinions one way or the other

Steel's an evergreen favorite, and the playing on this record stands up to plenty of instrumental uses of the instrument without taking over the sound. It's this pop side of outlaw country, understated enough to get lost. I'm glad the list helps fix that.

What a banger! Thanks Rob

Swäggg

Fun album!

Might as well just be one big song about whatever the fuck a honky tonk is

Ok

I do not dig country music, but this one is ok

Really catches the heart of Texas country. A great listen with clever lyrics and good dance songs.

nice country record! I was surprised to see that this one isn't as bad as other ones. Still it's got some downsides but it was actually a good listen. I'm between a 3 and a 4 but for me it's a 3

Really loving this album. This is an outlandish statement but I'm going to make it anyway: this album is to country as Kind of Blue is to jazz - as in, it's a genre defining, exemplary and well executed example (I'll stop the analogy there). Apparently this was too outside for country radio at the time, but clearly its DNA has found its way into country music that's followed it. Baffling that he opened for The Clash, and suffered abuse from their audience - but perhaps is illustrative of how this music didn't initially find its way with a mass audience (i.e. not country enough for country, not rock enough for rock). The band is tight, the songwriting solid, and his voice strikes me as an authoritative storytelling voice that is commanding and believable.

Like a greasy grilled cheese sandwich.

Satisfactory country eating.

Country music isn't my thing

Meh. Nothing significant, but not bad.

How can you hate classic honky tonk music like this? It’s just a great listen in every way and never fails to be a fun time. It’s not quite a 5 but I know I’ll still be listening to west texas waltz and cornbread moon all of tomorrow.

Nope to the honky tonk.

Joe Ely seems to have played with everyone. Band mates have gotten around too. Not my thing though

I wanted to like this more, and I did enjoy it, but it ended up coming off just a touch dull.

It was ok, nothing special for me, didn't playlist any songs. Plenty of better country out there.

Enjoyable Texas honky tonk with a rock edge and some really great guitar. A nice warm sound that grows on you as the album goes on and still sounds pretty fresh today. Great stuff. Fave Songs: Because of the Wind, I'll Be Your Fool, West Texas Waltz, Honky Tonkin', Boxcars, Cornbread Moon

I would generally say I hate country, but listening to something like this makes me appreciate that what I hate is modern arena country, because this rules. I loved the rockabilly cuts the most, but even the slower and twangier tracks were enjoyable.

Goh - NIet de grootste Countryfan

Vrolijke country mag er ook zijn, 't is niet altijd weemoed

Did not know this album before. I understand it is a classic in its genre (Allmusic: 5, Christgau: A, Rolling Stone: 4.5) and it sounds very competent to me, but I won't be listening to it again.

Starts with a couple of songs with an edge, then becomes rather uneventfull country.

Not bad for a country album - some really nice instrumentation and the lyrics were fairly interesting/clever.

8/10. Good lyrics, and had a great sound to it. There were definitely some weaker songs scattered in, but the album was short enough that it never dragged on

I would much prefer hearing this music in an old saloon than listening to it in my bedroom. 6/10

Had no expectations for this. This is a really intriguing and crazy album. The electric vibe punctuated by the Moog synth gives it an alien feeling in the context of what I usually associate with Texas Honky Tonk Country. Really solid album and enjoyed listening to it immensely. Reading more about Joe Ely, he seems pretty sweet.

2 good songs and a bunch of shit

Lively, bouncy country. Good fun, but not my cup of tea at all

Brilliant vernacular folk music

ahooo

Loved it! Old school country with a gentle rock edge - with catchy tunes and engaging lyrics.

Ik geef me volledig over aan deze lijst in de hoop m'n horizon te verbreden, dus er zijn een x aantal kansen om me te overtuigen dat er vroeger wél goede country werd gemaakt. Dan moet je dit soort dingen eigenlijk weglaten. 10 tracks waarvan er 7 minder dan 3500 streams hebben op Spotify, dus zelfs de country fans zijn dit denk ik met me eens. Het is niet verschrikkelijk, maar het is ook zeker niet goed. De productie voelt wat goedkoop (ondanks dat het een remaster is) en ons Joe zingt eigenlijk steeds net niet zuiver. Z'n stem klinkt wat dun.

Con este nombre está más o menos claro lo que incluye y tal como empieza no hay dudas. Honky Tonk. Con media hora entretenida no da tiempo a muchas quejas. Pero en general prescindible.

Meh

Honky Toni certainly grew on me due to this challenge haha Saved tracks: Boxcars, I’ll Be Your Fool, Honky Tonkin’

But too country, although I liked Boxcars

Een lekker potje country, met jankende gitaren en zo te horen de geijkte plattelandsonderwerpen. Perfect voor de langere autorit, arm uit het raam, de maat meetikken op het stuur en jezelf even een cowboy wanen.

Country in alle vormen die je al 1000 keer eerder hebt gehoord. In een zeer degelijke uitvoering. Alles is keurig gezongen. Knap, maar na een paar nummers heb je het wel weer gehoord.

Ik luister te weinig cuntry om dit echt goed op waarde te kunnen schatten. Wat maakt dit nu uitzonderlijk en waarom wordt dit blijkbaar in 1 adem genoemd met een aantal andere iconische country platen (die me net zo veel of weinig zeggen)? Het is altijd lekker om een steel guitar te horen en het zit verder prima in elkaar. Er lijkt me nog best wat variatie in te zitten, voor zover het genre dat toelaat. Ik heb me er prima mee vermaakt voor een keurige 3 sterren.

Ei pöllömpi. Vähemmän häiritsevä länkkäri, mutta ei mee lemppareihin 3/3

Ihan hyvää kantria taas, toimii juuri tämän puoli tuntia.

Todella kädenlämpöistä, jopa kliseistä kantria. Ei koko levyllistä jaksais, 2/5.

Country and I don't resonate at all.

Some good ole country vibes, nothing out of the ordinary, twangy and light.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Fingernails

This really honky'd my tonk

Honky Tonk with a Moog. Really unique, really interesting, but honestly it wears a bit thin by the end. Best track: Boxcars

M'ha sorprés. Més accessible que la majoria de discos de country de la llista. Honky tonk pur, però temes com 'Because of the Wind', 'Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown' o 'I'll Be Your Fool' fan de bon sentir i mereixen ser conservats

A fully polished and workmanlike artifact but I couldn't escape the feeling that in all ways, but particularly lyrically, it was a little basic and on the nose. Not entirely my genre so maybe I'm missing the subtlety as it certainly seems to be very well-regarded.

I don't usually listen to very much country music, so it's good for me to sit through a country album like this when one shows up in the rotation. I'm really glad I did as this one is particularly good. There are definitely some heavier rock music elements in the album than most country music I've heard, yet it's still very much country. The tracks are on solid footing. Not sure why that specific image comes to mind, but that's how I'm hearing these songs. There's an interesting balance between firm footing and light fun. I don't hear that so often, and this album definitely caught my ear and kept it engaged. Excellent music, very well composed and performed -- nicely done!

Country

This album is noticeably stifled by its outdated, and now cheesy, instrumentation. The vocals are a little shaky, and the lyrics are a bit uncomplicated. There’s an endearing earnestness to all of the aforementioned. However, not endearing enough to push it above a 3.

this album has the distinction of the least spotify listens of any we’ve had so far — the final song has only 1,033 total. for all that, i was expecting something terrible or transcendently great. this is… solid. there are some nice moments (cornbread moon), but also some really bad ones (i’ll be your fool). Overall, a totally fine country record

Not a big fan of country...

Not for me

Honky Tonk Masquerade is an uninteresting middle of the road classical country album. Nothing stands out: the production is mediocre, songs are weak and the performance sounds as a gig for the money.

One good song and one decent song doesn't take away that the rest is just not good enough.

Great, great record.

Un bon album country, pas le meilleir ici 3.5

It was ok. Joe Ely- liked cornbread moon Nice slide solo on because of the wind Box car- kind of a cool vibe. Cool harmonized guitar lines Jericho- like the half time part 2.5

What a terrible sounding record. The tones are so awful on this, I couldn’t stand it. The drum sound made me want to die. And there aren’t even any exciting solos or good pedal steel playing. Maybe this wasn’t the worst thing we’ve listened to but I had such a hard time finishing this one.

This made me cringe.

Not a great lover of country, it's ok

Look again it's country and I just cannot deal with most country, but I have to admit there were a couple of not terrible tracks there...

Fine and polished

Crisp, killer country. A strong, nearly suite-like set of songs. In the modern tradition, there's some knowing humor to the songs but also moments of real pathos. Editors are right: this man should be much better known.

Ok this was cool - a little bit country, a little bit rock n roll ha ha! I'll never listen to it again but it's an easy 4/5.

Short country album

Starting with the first track some of this was honking. Some albums clearly just get on the list to tick a genre box

Some great storytelling. Not all of it was for me, musically.

On the cover he has his capo on his guitar strap. So cool. I will definitely copy that.

Things didn’t get off to a good start, for me. Within 20 seconds, Cornbread Moon kicks into over-produced Country-Swing. The next ballad didn’t exactly redeem things. But Boxcars is a dark, country classic with a wicked guitar solo at the end. It's easy to see why it has 4X more plays than the rest of the LP combined. The rest is passable, a bit cliched and not as twangy as I’d like, but it is 1978 after all.

so bad, this is shit country music the 8 bit video game sounding "instrumentals" definitely did not help

Solid country album but a bit lacking in the low end on the production

4.0

Sounds like your typical old school C/W fare. I liked The West Texas Waltz, combining the two styles like that. I'm just not into that style, although I will acknowledge that style more than the new "Americana" style of country (rock + steel guitars). They all had that sound to it, but the songs did not drag on and overstay their welcome, I will give them that. They were well done, produced well, but just not a style I am a fan of. Next.

I really enjoyed the opener Cornbread Moon, it definitely felt like rock and roll honky tonk, with some nice guitarwork. It made me read up on Joe Ely, and I was surprised at how much different stuff he did and how he and the Class were big fans of each other. I might have to check out some of his more eclectic stuff. But back to this album, it felt a little bit bland with a few highs - the opener, Jericho, I'll Be Your Fool, and especially Fingernails. That last one was a ton of honky tonk fun; I could put that one on repeat all day. Honky Tonkin was alright, but not any better than Hank Jr. or Sr. So yeah, I'm curious to seek out more Joe Ely but not because the whole album blew me away, just a few parts and tidbits.

Not much to say about this. It was a pleasant country album. I liked it but not enough to go exploring his discography afterwards. Favorite tracks were “Boxcars” and “West Texas Waltz”

Jarrod fell asleep. So I had it turned way down. Good story-telling lyrics. Generic country sound. I would go to a concert if the tickets were free or really cheap.

nothing special here. it was just ok.

This contributes to my influential doesn't equal good belief. He certainly may have influenced a lot of music I like, or maybe they were influenced by the same people. I appreciate the mix of country/blues/big band but it's an artist that was almost good. Fingernails was just bad. Erica: it's country. It's hard for me to be objective.

I had heard the name but wasn’t familiar with his work but I ended up really liking parts of this album. A few songs were a lot of fun and I can definitely see the appeal.

3.5

I've never heard of Joe Ely before, but this was a decently fun album to listen to. It definitely oozes the feeling of Texas country from that time period, with sounds of rock and rockabilly mixed in. "Cornbread Moon," "Fingernails," and the title track are the standout songs here, but everything else feels a bit like filler. It's not bad filler, but it definitely pales in comparison to the rest of the album in my opinion. Even though I wasn't blown away by this, I'd still give Joe Ely another listen.

not sure that i buy much of what Joe Ely is selling on Honky Tonk Masquerade (not that he has that much to offer in the first place): the record is loaded with corny evocations of lower class midwestern quirks that Ely beats to the ground until they become indistinctive. it starts off strong, with its first three songs rich and full of color. “Boxcars” is the best thing on here — it fully captures the Ely’s vivid storytelling and complex country rock compositions. but every song following that is cheesier than the one before, and eventually they all begin to droll along. there are some last minute highlights, of course, like “Fingernails” or the title track, where Ely just goes off and has the time of his life. but as a non-country fan, Honky Tonk Masquerade unfortunately does not prove itself to be the record to make me a convert, but oh well…

This was not a great listen for me, an adherent of "Any Music but Country".

It started and I went hmmmm, then there were a couple of moments early on when I thought that this might take off in an unexpected direction, but it didn't.

So this thing was just added to the list for some reason, no? Slip past the censors or something? I'm glad someone threw it a life preserver, because this baby slaps and slaps hard. It walks a fine line of suggesting what country rock would become, all the while remaining both timeless and of it's time. Ely's vocals at times remind me of everyone from Poco, Randy Meisner (himself a founding member of both Poco and the Eagles), Jeff Freaking Lynne, Townes Van Zandt, and Gram Parsons. And you can also hear how future country greats like George Strait and Dwight Yoakam were influenced by this. Anyone who suggests this album to be in the running for consideration as one of the greatest country music albums ever will get no argument from yours truly. No wonder The Clash loved this dude. I thought this was my first exposure to Joe Ely, but it turns out I've been listening to him for years: Ely provided backing vocals on "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" with the aforementioned Clash.

Score: 70 Album art: 50 Dirty dirty fingernails Why does this guy want to hear his nails clacking on piano? It's very strange. Anyway, the first song is really fantastic. After hearing it I asked myself, is this really going to be an amazing country album?? Sadly the answer is no, but it is definitely good! I listened to the 2022 remaster and I don't know how much of this is the remaster but this thing is produced and mixed immaculately. Sure the mixing is flat but it's by no means bad. It's corny and cheesy but I was never groaning or upset with what I was hearing. Compared to modern country music that alone is an insane compliment. Also I could be wrong but I don't think there was a single mention of a truck so props for that. My personal enjoyment of this album is around a 3 as I'm not a huge country fan, but it's clear to me this is a cut above the rest so I'm giving it a 4

Joe be looking pretty fly on the cover and Cornbread Moon is a great song title. A mix of honky tonk, and classic Texas country, it can be a little corny, but I think it's easy to listen to. Great voice, with nice clear production. If you are not a country fan, I don't think you'd hate this but it probably won't change your mind about it. It is definitely way better than whatever the hell they're making now. Some of the slower songs sound samey but Boxcars is an absolute standout.

I wouldn't listen to this if no one would ever find out that I was listening to this.

As far as country goes it's not bad. Not my style and probably won't get any future plays but wasn't terrible.

country. very ok, but not something i would listen to again i think

It’s okay

Easy listening.

Leuk album. Vooral als je van country muziek houdt maar ook voor de liefhebber van rustige, melodieuze popmuziek. ***

Late 70's country...you can hear the 80's on the horizon. Nasty slide and electric tones throughout. Some corny bits here and there but some bangers too. At its best when the West Texas vibes come through.

Some really horrible cliched country, but then there are songs like Boxcars, which is brilliant, and Fingernails, which is a great piece of rockabilly.

Average.