I Wouldn't Live in New York City

A bit of a curiosity in Buck Owens catalog, I Wouldnt Live in New York City is tied together by a simple concept and a bit of production flair. The ten songs are all about cities, an idea inspired by his previous album The Kansas City Song, which not only had the title track but such regionally inspired tunes as Black Texas Dirt, Scandinavian Polka, The Wind Blows Every Day in Oklahoma, Amsterdam and (Its a Long Way To) Londontown. The latter two reappear here, albeit in altered versions. Amsterdam has been reworked into Houston-Town while (Its a Long Way To) Londontown is layered with special effects, an idea possibly inspired by how Owens was interrupted by a police siren while recording the vocal track for I Wouldnt Live in New York City (If They Gave Me the Whole Dang Town) live on the street of N.Y.C. The album is littered with odd sound effects intended to evoke the city depicted in song -- Houston-Town gets some sounds from an Apollo mission, Reno Lament gets audio from a casino -- a period affectation that winds up being pretty endearing. Less endearing is the track repetition. Roughly half the album contains songs from then-recent Owens albums, and while these effect-laden versions are unique, there nevertheless remains a slight feeling of this being a retread. Nevertheless, its an appealing Owens record from the dawn of the 1970s, a time when he was happy to take stylistic detours -- Santo Domingo finds the Buckaroos indulging in some Latin rhythms -- and settle into a slower, burnished groove that exudes warmth. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine