Rating:
Genre:
Country
Release Date: 06/06/2006
As outlaws slowly but surely metamorphosed into slick urban cowboys, the orneriest of all outlaws,
Tompall Glaser, did a typically unpredictable move: he reunited with his estranged brothers. He had left them behind at the beginning of the '70s, as he pursued wilder, woollier territory, but when he teamed back up with his siblings, he smoothed out some of his rough edges -- not so much making concessions to contemporary trends as simply fitting back in with his old crew.
The Glaser Brothers signed to
Elektra and released two records, 1981's
Lovin' Her Was Easier and the following year's
After All These Years, that straddled the line between
Tompall's
outlaw and
urban cowboy; the attitude was a bit rebellious but the sound made the albums easier fits for a
country radio that was getting increasingly slick. And these two records did make some impact on the airwaves -- the cover of
Kris Kristofferson's
"Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again" was a significant hit, reaching number two on the
country charts -- and in retrospect they have many of the aural hallmarks of early-'80s
country-pop, particularly in the big drums and polished veneer that sounded like it was built on synths even if it wasn't. Even so, beneath that sheen
the Glaser Brothers thankfully were as idiosyncratic as ever in their song choices and how they blended American styles.
Lovin' Her Was Easier was built upon covers, highlighted by a lazily mournful reading of
Harlan Howard's
"Busted" and a surprisingly light version of
Hank Williams'
"A Mansion on the Hill," and it also revived the wonderful
"Drinking Them Beers," which
Tompall had cut for
MGM. It's not just that much of this music was familiar:
the Glaser Brothers adhere to the folky, harmony-heavy
progressive country that made their early-'70s records so distinctive, and even if
Lovin' Her Was Easier is just a shade smoother than those records, it works to their benefit: it helps make the record feel as warm and friendly as a reunion should. It was a warmth that didn't last long: they split up, this time for good, after their next album,
After All These Years, which retained some of the same spirit of their 1981 comeback but had a different feel. Like that album,
After All These Years had a stronger crossover element within its smooth production than might be expected based on
Tompall's
outlaw reputation, but even if this is slicker than
Lovin' Her Was Easier, this also doesn't feel like a conscious crossover attempt; it feels like it was simply playing by the rules of the time, at least as far as the production is concerned. That can't quite be said about the material that
the Glaser Brothers chose to cover on
After All These Years. Instead of relying on
country chestnuts, they relied on newer songs, from the
Mickey Newbury song
"I Still Love You (After All These Years)" that gave the album its title to
"Stay Young," which
Don Williams later turned into a hit. The lack of familiar tunes does mean that this doesn't feel quite as warm and familiar as its predecessor, but overall it has a greater range and deeper resonance than
Lovin' Her Was Easier. This is still heavy on
ballads and songs that showcase
the Glaser Brothers' exquisite harmonies, but there's edgier material here, like the
honky tonk boozing anthem
"Happy Hour Blues" and the barbed and witty
"Oh, America," that gives
After All These Years musical and emotional depth when combined with romantic numbers like
"Maria Consuela" and
"Rosali," the
ballads, and rolling
country-pop tunes like
"Can't Live with 'Em (Can't Live Without 'Em)." In other words, it may not have been an intentional farewell, but it is a fitting farewell, since it draws on the strengths of
the Glaser Brothers as a group and shows that they were still making rich, adventurous music long after their heyday.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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