Great American Saturday Night

The story behind Great American Saturday Night goes like this. Back in 1978, Bobby Bare delivered it to Columbia and, upon hearing it, the label decided to shelve it and it remained in the vaults until 2020, when BFD excavated the record and shared it with the world. No particulars are forthcoming in either the CD or its accompanying promotional campaign, so its unclear where Great American Saturday Night would have fallen in Bares discography, especially since he had a busy 1978, releasing both Bare and Sleeper Wherever I Fall. Great American Saturday Night doesnt sound especially like either of those records. Comprised entirely of Shel Silverstein compositions, its of a piece with Drunk and Crazy and, especially, Down & Dirty. Like that 1980 LP, Great American Saturday Night is presented as a live album but its all an act: the crowd hoots and hollers at indiscriminate moments, they sing along with songs that are unveiled here for the first time. It sounds like a party and, more than that, Great American Saturday Night sounds like a party record, the kind that was sold under the counter at a record store in the 70s. Thats its considerable charm but also certainly the reason why Columbia didnt release it at the time; theres no way a major label would want to issue an album whose title phrase rhymes with does anyone here want to fuck or fight. Profanities fly, theres a lament that They Wont Let Us Show It at the Beach, and a vulgar original incarnation of a tune thatd later become The Diet Song. There are slower moments, too, sentimental ballads recounting memories and loneliness, but theyre palette cleansers on a big and bawdy record designed for beer drinking. Listening to Great American Saturday Night, its hard to imagine it coming out in 1978, but it adds a bit of depth and dirtiness to Bares middle-aged prime. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine