Waylon Jennings - Live From Austin, TX '89 [2LP]

Waylon Jennings walked onto the Austin City Limits stage in 1989 with nothing to prove and a lifetime of hits to play, and Live From Austin, TX captures that night on two LPs.

By the late eighties the outlaw movement he helped lead had passed into legend, but Jennings remained a commanding live presence, and this taping finds him relaxed and gruff, in excellent voice. New West first released it in 2006 as part of a series drawn from the long-running television show, and the set plays like a career overview delivered by the man himself.

I'm a Ramblin' Man kicks things off with that signature thumping bass and his trademark phased Telecaster twang, and Rainy Day Woman follows with easy, rolling swagger. His reading of Kris Kristofferson's Me and Bobby McGee is loose and lived-in, while Rodney Crowell's I Ain't Living Long Like This closes the show with a defiant kick. In between come the Dukes of Hazzard theme and a rousing run of outlaw anthems.

The band locks into a deep, steady groove behind him, giving the familiar songs real muscle without ever overplaying.

It's an essential live document for any outlaw country fan, and a reminder that few voices in country music ever carried such weight.