Bobby Bare - vocals, guitar; Tom Hamilton - steel guitar, dobro; Dave Hargis - lead guitar; Gary Kubal - drums; Ken Smith - bass; Lewis Stephens - keyboards
Bare, who always had a strong country music following in New York City, was in fine form when he played this lively set at the Lone Star Cafe on 52nd Street in Manhattan. Bare was enjoying a popular period on Columbia Records, and he opened the show with "Drunk And Crazy," the title track from his hit album at the time.
Aligned with the Outlaw country movement that also included Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and others, Bare had plenty of songs about unrequited love, living in Texas, and drinking too much alcohol. His audience simply ate up the material, and Bare obliges during this set, which also includes "Good For Nothin'" and "Rosalie's Good Eats Cafe." He gives solid renditions of "Jogger," "Numbers" and "The Winner," which were all songs all written specifically for Bare during this period by Nashville songsmith Shel Silverstein.
His band, which had been in place for several years when this show was recorded, offer up true Texas honky-tonk riffs and never overshadow Bare, who is generally a laid back vocalist. The show ends with three popular cover songs: the R&B classic "High Heel Sneakers," The Allman Brothers standard "Ramblin' Man" and J.J. Cale's "Call Me The Breeze," a song first covered by Bare's old friends Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Bare would go on for several more years with this band and Columbia Records. By the end of the decade however, he would be semi-retired with a concentration on limited touring and independently released records. His son, Bobby Bare Jr., a successful alternative artist and producer, eventually got him back in the saddle where he would once again tour and record on a yearly basis.