Big Backyard Beat Show

Amazon.com
Big Backyard Beat Show is aptly named, since it takes the down-home retro twang of BR5-49's earlier releases and punches it up with big, old-school rock & roll beats. That doesn't make this record any less country, though; these boys know that rock & roll was country all along. To wit, rollicking covers of "Wild One" and "Seven Nights to Rock" are hillbilly boogie and rockabilly, respectively, only with the guitars--both electric and pedal-steel--cranked and twisted to contemporary levels. The only real weakness here is that the originals of frontmen Chuck Mead and Gary Bennett aren't as strong this time around as last, but even then the shuffle "My Name Is Mudd" and the driving "You Are Never Nice to Me" come awfully darn close. --David Cantwell

Country Music Magazine
BR5-49 has staked out a hip, retro, novelty niche as masterful imitators. The musicianship on Big Backyard Beat Show is inspired throughout. These guys really know their way around their respective instruments, and producers Jozef Nuyens and Mike Janas have done a wonderful job of capturing the boisterous spontaneity of BR5-49's live shows in the studio.

Big Backyard Beat Show

Tracks:

There Goes My Love
Wild One
Hurtin' Song
Out Of Habit
Storybook Endings (If You Stop Believin')
Wheels And A Crowbar
Pain, Pain Go Away
You Are Never Nice To Me
Goodbye, Maria
Seven Nights To Rock
My Name Is Mudd
You Flew The Coop
Change The Way I Look
Georgia On A Fast Train

Amazon.com

Big Backyard Beat Show is aptly named, since it takes the down-home retro twang of BR5-49's earlier releases and punches it up with big, old-school rock & roll beats. That doesn't make this record any less country, though; these boys know that rock & roll was country all along. To wit, rollicking covers of "Wild One" and "Seven Nights to Rock" are hillbilly boogie and rockabilly, respectively, only with the guitars--both electric and pedal-steel--cranked and twisted to contemporary levels. The only real weakness here is that the originals of frontmen Chuck Mead and Gary Bennett aren't as strong this time around as last, but even then the shuffle "My Name Is Mudd" and the driving "You Are Never Nice to Me" come awfully darn close. --David Cantwell

Customer Reviews:

Sophomore isn't a slump..big improvement over debut.......2005-04-27

BR5-49 returns for their sophomore effort with more honky-tonk tradition, a sprinkling of rockabilly, and a Western swing number. Unlike Amazon's reviewer, I feel the originals from Gary Bennett and Chuck Mead (with an assist from Shaw Wilson on "18 Wheels...") are STRONGER this time out, making for a better CD than the debut.

HIGHLIGHTS:
A cover of Buck Owens' "There Goes my Love" gets things off to a good start. A cover of the Killer follows with "Wild One" and it's nice, though not as manic as Lewis himself. "Out of Habit", written by the band's Chuck Mead, toasts bar hopping. ("I can't be held responsible/it helps me unwind/She said it was another bad habit of mine") Gary Bennett's "Storybook Endings" is a wonderfully bittersweet portrayal of a divorcee determined to keep looking for 'happy ever after'. ("Storybook endings and white picket fences/Castles and tales where the prince finds the princess ain't real/if you stop believin'"). "18 Wheels and a Crowbar" is a trucker's fantasy revenge on cellphone totin' yuppie scum. Love and pain intertwine in Bennett's "You are Never Nice to Me" while accordion lends a Tejano flavor to Mead's "Goodbye, Maria". "Seven Nights to Rock" is solid rockabilly. "You Flew the Coop" is a novelty Western swing number.

LOWS:
"Pain, Pain Go Away" isn't awful but it's less compelling than most of the material here. "Georgia on a Fast Train" isn't bad, but Shaver's original is better. "change the Way I look" is somewhat tepid.

BOTTOM LINE:
14 cuts here...11 of them are at least good. This is where I'd start if you're trying to find out why people hype this band.

Jump & Jive.......2004-11-15

"Big Backyard Beat Show" bursts with energy & some of the hottest country/rockabilly licks you're likely to hear! My favorite track is "Wild One" with its totally infectious joyful rocking beat, "I never went to school, I was way too cool, I got the jump, I got the jive, I got the message I'm alive." "Out of Habit" is another bouncing romp, "I went out drinkin' & don't you know, I didn't come home til a quarter to four, I got the boogie fever & the woogie release, she said, 'How come you always the last one to leave?'" "Seven Nights to Rock" is another great flat-out rocker with an infectious beat. Even when they slow it down a bit like on "My Name Is Mudd," Don Herron's steel guitar weeps like a juke box 25 miles out of Nashville on a Saturday night. BR5-49's set pops and bounces joyfully in some of the most infectious country you're likely to hear! Enjoy!

BR5-49, what can i say... amazing!.......2003-01-30

This band rocks, live and recorded... buy this if you have good taste!

Yee-haaaaa.......2000-05-05

Well golly-bob-howdy. Ya gotta love a band that names themselves after a Hee-Haw comedy skit. I'm no Country Music fanatic, but these guys are as genuine as it gets, and awful fun to listen to. If you even remotely like genuine American music, pick this one up. You won't be disappointed.

If you're just gettin here..........1999-10-30

...you've missed a lot. This is the best band in the world today. Anyone who has seen them live knows that Chuck Mead is probably one of the ten best guitarists in the world right now. He plays so effortlessly, though, you might miss it. Donnie Herron is an inspired musician, someone who has been blessed with amazing talent. Shaw and Jay are the best rhythm section since Watts and Wyman. Gary is just the ghost of every true honky tonk singer that has ever lived and died pouring his heart out. If you don't buy all three CD's right now, you'll be missing a great deal from your musical collection. If they come to your town, and you don't go see them, you will have missed a golden opportunity. I pray to God that they never break up.

Music Album:

Music Album