Bobby Bare

Raven's 2006 reissue of Bobby Bare's long out of print -- and never on CD -- unheralded masterwork from 1979, Down & Dirty, presents a remastered version of the original album supplemented by a number of tracks that have never shown up on CD either. Down & Dirty was about as great as rowdy, boozy outlaw party music got, thanks in large part to eight terrific Shel Silverstein songs plus Kris Kristofferson's "Good for Nothin' Blues." As bonuses on this reissue there are two tracks each from 1978's Bare ("The Gambler," "This Guitar Is for Sale") and that same year's Sleeper Wherever I Fall ("Goin' Up's Easy, Comin' Down's Hard," "Sleep Tight, Good Night Man"), 1981's As Is ("Summer Wages," "Take Me as I Am [Or Let Me Go]"), and 1982's Ain't Got Nothin' to Lose ("Goodnight Irene," "[I'm Not] A Candle in the Wind"), plus "Diet Song" from 1983's Drinkin' from the Bottle, Singin' from the Heart. Since none of these albums have been reissued on CD, it's hard not to wish that Raven was issuing a series of two-fers from Bare's late-'70s/early-'80s stint at Columbia, but given that lack of in print material, it's also easy to celebrate the generous bonus tracks on this reissue because they do enhance an already excellent album. Since the original Down & Dirty is a live album -- or at the very least is presented as a live album (the crowd noise occasionally seems suspiciously canned, but that doesn't neuter the performances themselves, which are loose-limbed and tremendously entertaining) -- the bonus tracks don't fit seamlessly with the record in sound but in spirit they do, presenting a blend of sentimental ("Sleep Tight, Good Night Man") and silly (Shel Silverstein's "Diet Song") that summarizes the range of Bare's music during the outlaw days. Edsel and Razor & Tie have issued more thorough overviews of this time, but for fans who have listened to those and need to dig deeper, Raven's Down & Dirty...Plus is necessary: the album itself is excellent and the bonus tracks only offer further proof that this era was one of Bare's best. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide