Buck Owens And The Buckaroos

Ain’t It Amazing, Gracie

Omnivore, 2021

8/10

Listen to Ain’t It Amazing, Gracie

Buck Owens released 3 studio albums in 1973- Ain’t It Amazing, Gracie being the middle one- and it came out just 2 weeks after the well received In The Palm Of Your Hand. A record that charted at #17 on the country album charts, and produced some staples in his repertoire, Ain’t It Amazing, Gracie even contains the track that would revamp Owens’ career 15 years after it appeared here.

The title track starts the listen with Owens’ inimitable version of country rock, where Jerry Brightman’s warm pedal steel helped this tune land at #14 on the singles chart, and it isn’t long until “Streets Of Bakersfield” flows with its breezy melodies and shuffling drums from Jerry Wiggins on the classic tune that, in 1988, would scale the charts to number 1 as a duet with Dwight Yoakam.

Occupying the middle spot, the playful and vocally fluid “Your Monkey Won’t Be Home Tonight” might have you searching for your dancing shoes, while “I Know That You Know (That I Love You)” takes a romantic tone amid the soulful backing singers and cozy guitar work.

Near the end, “Old Faithful” displays Jim Shaw’s key prowess alongside Owens’ expressive singing that hints at gospel ideas, and “When You Get To Heaven (I’ll Be There)” exits the listen with The Ray Sisters complementing Owens pipes on the quintessential Buck Owens finisher.

Randy Poe does a great job with the liner notes on this one, and the remastering from the original tapes thanks to Michael Graves makes sure that this classic listen sounds better than ever on its first appearance on CD and digital formats.

Travels well with: Buck Owens And The Buckaroos- In The Palm Of Your Hand; Buck Owens And His Buckaroos- The Kansas City Song