“Chock full of exciting guitar work and solid hooks, Happy Songs features two of Ely’s absolute finest moments on record. “Hard Luck Saint” is a tale about a Turkish immigrant who worked in Ely’s father’s used-clothing store when he was a kid, with half-time verses opening up into a Bobby Fuller-styled chorus. “Jesse Justice” pays tribute to a drifting pool shooter whose shady past and hotshot pool skills made a powerful impact on a young Ely. The lyrics flow along with a swampy beat reminiscent of Levon Helm and the Band and some tasty Muscle Shoals guitar licks.” - Eric Hisaw / LONE STAR MUSIC MAGAZINE
“Finely crafted, confident, and energized, Rattlesnake Gulch is another great album in the Ely canon, and his best since Letters to Laredo.” - Michael Keefe / POPMATTERS
“Ely's voice sounds great throughout Happy Songs, as it does on all his albums: a razor with a silver edge that belies his gentle speaking voice. But while other rootsy singer-songwriters of Ely's age & stature have been acclaimed for craftiness and literacy -- including Hancock, whose sly compositions have been a staple of Ely's repertoire -- Ely's own cinematic storytelling seems to have been overshadowed by his voice. Lyrically, what he does better than just about anyone is blend the earthy with the mythic.” - Andrew Marcus / CLEVELAND SCENE
"Although four years have passed since Joe Ely's last studio release, 2003's Streets of Sin – bracketed by 2000's Live at Antone's and '04's Hightone Records compilation Settle for Love – Austin's onetime train-hopping troubadour comes roaring back for his 60th birthday with Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch. AARP will have to wait on the West Texan because there's no sign of easing up here, nor of Ely giving any less than his 1000%. The evidence lies in Rattlesnake Gulch's dynamic performances, conforming to what we've come to expect in the Lord of the Highway and Flatlander. From the post-Katrina ode "Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes" to "River Fever," a love song to River City, Ely's songwriting is as hearty and varied as ever. The sole exception, "Miss Bonnie and Mister Clyde," is a forced rewrite of "Me and Billy the Kid," but the reinterpretation of Butch Hancock's "Firewater" into a horn-filled funkfest is inspired. You'd have to go to Ely's homestead just outside of town to see him weed out critters from the Rattlesnake Gulch behind his house with a shotgun, but barring that, these Happy Songs are all the shooting gallery necessary." - Jim Caligiuri / Austin Chronicle
“Throughout this collection, Ely sings these passionate songs with all the gusto they require. Although it is rarely happy, Ely's new music nonetheless offers comfort and hope for hurting ones.”
- Dan Macintosh / Country Standard Time
“There's a youthful, grinning Joe Ely on the cover of Silver City. The disc doesn't contain old recordings, though, only old songs. The now-60-year-old Austin firebrand wrote them in the late Sixties/early Seventies but recently revisited them at his home studio with just guitars, harmonica, percussion, and occasional accordion from Joel Guzman. The elder singing the words and melodies of his youth imbues the songs with a stark, gruff authority that a younger musician would be hard-pressed to muster. Some might be familiar: "Silver City" was on 1987's Lord of the Highway; "Indian Cowboy" was covered by Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark; "Wounded Knee," with drastically altered lyrics, became "Row of Dominoes"; and "Drivin' 'Cross Russia" evolved into "Me and Billy the Kid." The ghost of Woody Guthrie smiles over the panoramic Americana visions that Ely creates here.” - Jim Caligiuri /Austin Chronicle
“Ely never wastes his authoritative vocal presence on fluff. The opening title track tells the sad tale of one man who ends up losing nearly everything after taking his chances in the big city, while "Wounded Knee" offers up historical narrative in song. Butch Hancock may be the most esteemed songwriter in The Flatlanders, but Ely is no slouch himself. He wrote everything (the songs were actually written pre-Flatlanders, but recently recorded), and except for the sing-song feel of "Windy Windy Windy," there isn't a dud in the bunch. With "Silver City," Joe Ely comes up golden.”
- Dan MacIntosh / Country Standard Time
“The picture of a young Joe Ely graces the cover. This is an acoustic record, featuring Joe (vocals, guitars, harmonica, percussion) and Joel Guzman, the accordion player extra-ordinare! It includes new recordings of songs that were written in Joe's early days on the road, many of which have never been released before. Of course we know titletrack "Silver City" that opens the disc, beautifully sung and played, truly magnificent. And that exciting story of the "Indian Cowboy" is my favorite Joe Ely-song! Did you know that he worked in the circus himself? "Santa Rosa / St. Augustine" has a simple, yet enchanting melody and Joel Guzman plays those wonderful accordion parts, it's like being lured across the Mexican border, slowly... Poignant historic tale "Wounded Knee", told like it only happened last year. "Cloister Mountain" has a bluegrassy feel, mountain music without mandolin and fiddle, but the harmonica does the job just as well! "Time For Travelin'" from 1978 is -indeed like a good trainsong- full of longing, melancholy and... the accordion. Same goes initially for "I Know Will Never Be Mine", where Joe sings harmony with himself and then we realize that this is the voice of a man, just having a dream in prison, the gallows waiting at dawn. Very smartly done. "Drivin' 'Cross Russia" sounds very much like Bruce Springsteen's famous car songs, like "Open All Night" for example - O.K., slightly slower - and features a funny surrealistic story, including a pet pig. Interesting for sure. And I always said Joe Ely was a Springsteen with soul in his voice! "Windy Windy Windy" is a fast short track and then the record ends on poetic, long Dylanesque story song about the fair: "Billy Boy". "No one wants to see when it comes to the end / The still ferris wheel when it quits spinning / No one wants to hear the sound's too intense / When the midway closes and leaves nothing but silence." Breathtaking. Art house movie…” – Insurgent Country
“There’s a short roster of rock and roll performers (Jagger, Springsteen) who can rivet your attention every time they step onstage. If you grew up in Texas, here’s a name on that list: Joe Ely. Those who have seen Ely give his all, particularly with his early Jesse Taylor/Ponty Bone band or with David Grissom in the mid-eighties—or really in most any other configuration—know what others may not have gleaned from his studio albums: His performances are absolutely electric. Small wonder he has now released Live Cactus! (Rack ’Em), his fourth live album. Joined on accordion by his frequent (and brilliant) collaborator Joel Guzman, he turns what could have been an intimate Austin coffeehouse snooze into a rave-up. There’s nothing here—save a duet with Ryan Bingham on Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freightliner Blues”—that Ely hasn’t recorded before, but Guzman, who always knows just the right thing to play, lends a new flavor to old favorites. Ely, meanwhile, accelerates the excitement with the slightest nuance again and again, making the hundred-plus audience respond as if it were ten times larger.”
– Jeff McCord / Texas Monthly
“Joe Ely is noted for the spectacular band combinations he’s brought to Gruene Hall over the years, but a favorite has been his show with Grammy Award-winning accordion player, Joel Guzman. The duet of Ely and Guzman is supremely harmonious, excelling with skillful renditions of Ely’s original songs that appeal to the heart of Texas music fans — the two recorded the critically acclaimed CD, Live Cactus.” – San Antonio Current
Where is My Love w/Linda Ronstadt
“Written by West Texas songwriter, Randy Banks, it is a Tejanao-tinged song of lost love and woeful regret that brings Linda Ronstadt back to her ‘Silk Purse’ country-rock era of the early 70’s. Her vocal interchange with Ely carries a soulful reminder of how two fine artists create magic through chemistry and the sheer joy of sharing together in a great country song and, sadly, how much we will miss her voice due to her struggles with Parkinson’s disease.” – Twang Nation
“Ely and Ronstadt achieved a truly spellbinding dynamic on what went on to become a classic of Ely’s; and while it’s kind of a shame it took so long for the world to hear this recording, fans should feel fortunate that it happened in the first place, and grateful that it finally found its way out of the vault.” – The Music Enthusiast
If you haven't seen Joe Ely live you have missed one hard working, entertaining performer that gives his all, even playing solo acoustic, but on this disc he has one of the hottest bands you will ever hear. This concert captures the essence and sweat of the music these guys grew up with and played with, hard working performers that go out of their way every night in a new town to put their names into the hearts and minds of those who come to see them.
“This is what you want a live disc to be, the songs you associate with the band, plus a couple of lesser known tunes to break things up done with the passion and excitement that only an appreciative crowd can elicit. One of the best and most exciting live discs I've heard.” – Bob Gottleib / FAME Magazine
“This release (on Ely’s own label) is especially welcome, because it features the band when it included not only a young David Grissom on guitar but rock sax legend Bobby Keyes. That same lineup was responsible for one of Joe’s best-ever albums, Lord Of The Highway, brand-new at the time of this gig, but by 1990, when Ely cut Live At Liberty Lunch, Keyes was gone – no doubt off playing with his sometimes employers, the Rolling Stones.
“This much-bootlegged Chicago performance comes from a single night, presented with no edits or overdubs – most likely at Park West (although no one’s quite sure). Grissom and the rhythm section of bassist Jimmy Pettit and drummer Davis McLarty (who, with guitarist David Holt, would gig on off nights as the Booze Weasels) were tight and muscular – the type of band that approached playing live like a racehorse busting out of the gate. Grissom launches into the stratosphere with an ease and consistency that’s remarkable – especially on “Don’t Put A Lock On My Heart” and on “L.A.,” where he’s preceded by a Keyes solo that’s the sax equivalent of saying “Follow that!” Just when you think he’s finished his response to Keyes’ call, he pauses, then comes up for air with a final, staggering burst.
“It’s almost cruel to say, “If you never saw this band….” – because that chance has passed. But thankfully, later converts and career-fans can experience together this snapshot of one of the best bands to ever incinerate a stage.” – Dan Forte / Vintage Guitar
“Live Shots (1980), Live at Liberty Lunch (1990), Live @ Antone's (2000), Live Cactus! (2008) – Joe Ely's heart beats onstage. Live Chicago 1987 isn't about to break the Austin firebrand's mean streak, either. Precursor to the Lunch gig three years later, Chicago bustles with Ely's second classic lineup (David Grissom, Davis McLarty, Jimmy Pettit) and throws in Stones sideman and fellow Lubbock wildcat Bobby "Brown Sugar" Keyes on saxophone for added licks. On Ely's epic "Letter to L.A.," Keyes blows from "Waiting on a Friend" to "You Can't Always Get What You Want," with Grissom cranking like both Keith and Ronnie. No wonder Springsteen always guests the bandleader onstage whenever he's in Texas; Ely drives a hard bargain. Butch Hancock's swaggering "Lord of the Highway" never sounded so ramrod, after which the 55-minute set floors it.
Live @ Antone's closer "Oh Boy!," Buddy Holly's monument to true-hearted Flatlanders, here lives and breathes Joe Ely.” – Raoul Hernandez / Austin Chronicle
“Under any circumstance, Joe Ely is a great, gripping live performer. But this time, there are two more good reasons to make your way through the back roads of Bucks County. One is that Satisfied at Last, the Lubbock, Texas-born Flatlander's new album, is his best in years, a rock solid collection of originals that take stock after 40 plus years on the road without settling for sentimentality or giving up on romance. Plus, it's juiced with a Tex-Mex take on Billy Joe Shaver's "Live Forever," and two superb new songs written by Ely's fellow Flatlander Butch Hancock.”
— Dan Deluca / Philadelphia Inquirer
“Satisfied at Last’ is a mature testament to aging gracefully as a high-spirited yet often inwardly directed Texas troubadour. One need hardly mention anymore the significant influence he had on the young, impressionable Clash.” —Village Voice
“On Satisfied at Last, Ely doesn’t sound much older than he did when he cut his debut. The voice may be a bit rougher, but he can still hit those keening high notes, and his band still rocks out like a gang of hungry teenagers. The tunes here all deal with mortality, and Ely faces the subject head-on, sprinkling his tales with sharp observations on life’s pleasures and limitations with his usual touches of ironic humor.
“The opener, “The Highway is My Home”, rides a subtle beat that has hints of funk and reggae, suggested by Ely’s offbeat electric guitar accents. Loss and limitation inform tunes like “Not That Much Has Changed”, the tale of a soldier returning form a war. Ely’s take on a subject that could have incited a series of clichés is written in a timeless style that invokes Iraq, Vietnam, or any war. Mexican flavored acoustic guitar and crying pedal steel intensify the lyric’s emotional content. The title track sums up a man’s life and concludes that true love is the only thing worth living and dying for. Ely sings it with all the passion that makes his music so compelling.
“The album ends with three powerful tracks. The Texas reggae of “Roll Again” uses gambling as a metaphor for life’s uncertainties as Ely sings “Nobody’s satisfied, with the road that they chose to ride / Oh, let it go, roll again.” The laidback shuffle “I’m a Man Now” tips its hat to the Bo Diddley classic “I’m a Man”, but Diddley’s confidence is replaced by Ely’s self-reflective investigation of what it means to be male. “I’m not a kid,” he sings. “I done some things I never should have did.” David Holt complements Ely’s confessions with some icy Chicago style electric guitar fills. “Circumstance”, written by Butch Hancock, is one of the best tunes Ely’s ever cut, a mystical cowboy song with a Zen-like lyric that celebrates mortality and the confusing chaos of life with a wink and a smile. Ely delivers a reverent vocal against fat, twangy guitar notes that reverberate like stars going supernova in an endless summer sky. It’s a stunning tune that brings the set on Satisfied at Last to a satisfying conclusion.” – J. Poet / Crawdaddy
“Ely still sings with agility and swagger, though retrospection and mortality tie together the songs here. There's a rueful mood to "Not That Much Has Changed", about a soldier's return home, but mostly Ely's tone is philosophical. "The Highway is My Home" is defiant roadhouse rock, while the bluesy "I'm a Man Now" and scratchy reggae of "Roll Again" both shrug off the past. Best of all is "Circumstance", by Ely's former Flatlanders bandmate Butch Hancock, a cowboy's tribute to the endless trail.” – The Guardian
“The second song on Joe Ely's 2011 album Satisfied at Last is titled "Not That Much Has Changed," and it's hard not to think that sums up the album pretty well. That isn't an insult: Ely has been making records since 1972, he knows his craft well, and he's still one of the most consistently rewarding artists to come out of the Texas singer/songwriter community. His voice is in great shape on Satisfied at Last, he brings a genuine passion and soul to his performances in the studio, and his tales of outlaws and ramblers trying to make their way under the big sky of the Southwest are still resonant, intelligent, and down to earth.Joe Ely is still one of the best things the Lone Star State has to offer, and Satisfied at Last shows he's not about to stop making albums worth hearing, and still finding things to say within the style he's made his own.”
– Mark Deming / AllMusic
“As we know, many great musicians record and produce directly on their personal computers these days. I am thankful for everything that Joe and others like him have done to move our world forward.” – Steve Wozniak /Apple Computer co-founder
“Guess what?Joe Ely was not only ahead of his time, he was right on the money. Back then Ely was calling the sound “digibilly,” and he was only partially kidding. There are ten rocking songs here, and whether its a machine or a human making the noise everything comes across with a distinctive heartbeat and a Lone Star flair. Great music is great music no matter how it’s made, and something Ely signed on for 50 years ago and has no intention of stopping. Sample that!” – Bill Bentley / The Morton Report
“This release (on Ely’s own label) is especially welcome, because it features the band when it included not only a young David Grissom on guitar but rock sax legend Bobby Keyes. That same lineup was responsible for one of Joe’s best-ever albums, Lord Of The Highway, brand-new at the time of this gig, but by 1990, when Ely cut Live At Liberty Lunch, Keyes was gone – no doubt off playing with his sometimes employers, the Rolling Stones.
“This much-bootlegged Chicago performance comes from a single night, presented with no edits or overdubs – most likely at Park West (although no one’s quite sure). Grissom and the rhythm section of bassist Jimmy Pettit and drummer Davis McLarty (who, with guitarist David Holt, would gig on off nights as the Booze Weasels) were tight and muscular – the type of band that approached playing live like a racehorse busting out of the gate. Grissom launches into the stratosphere with an ease and consistency that’s remarkable – especially on “Don’t Put A Lock On My Heart” and on “L.A.,” where he’s preceded by a Keyes solo that’s the sax equivalent of saying “Follow that!” Just when you think he’s finished his response to Keyes’ call, he pauses, then comes up for air with a final, staggering burst.
“It’s almost cruel to say, 'If you never saw this band….' – because that chance has passed. But thankfully, later converts and career-fans can experience together this snapshot of one of the best bands to ever incinerate a stage.” – Dan Forte / Vintage Guitar
“Joe Ely has long been an early cyber-adopter – one of the first musicians to make active use of a website and, as a visual artists, one who’s consistently meditated between the machine and the human heart. But nowhere was he more ahead of his time (and place) than within this music of three decades ago, when the computer was consider anathema to ‘authenticity,’ particularly in the realms of country, roadhouse twang or whatever you call what eventually became lumped togetheras Americana. For Ely fans, this release is essential listening – a long-missing piece of the puzzle.”
– Don McLeese / Texas Music
“I've been playing (Panhandle Rambler) the last few days. Joe's stories are like watching a movie in Cinemascope and technicolor. He did a perfect job...”
— Linda Ronstadt
“Panhandle Rambler is a terrific record that’s right up there with the best works of Ely’s career!”
— David Menconi / Rolling Stone
“Best of the month! Ely captures the wonder and desolation of west Texas through a series of allusive story songs that create vivid portraits of oil pumps, boxcars, old hobos and clattering iron trains!”
— Rob Hughes / UNCUT
“FOUR STARS! This is Joe Ely at his rugged best, sometimes rueful, sometimes riotous, providing tales of the flatlands....” — Fred Dellar / Mojo (UK)
“Death, taxes and good songs from Joe Ely: Those are the three things you can count on in life and, with the release of this new set of a dozen tunes, the latter becomes more and more apparent.”
— Michael Verity / The Bluegrass Situation
“This 12-tune set ranks with the best work of his 45-year career.” — Steve Wine / Associated Press
“This album will ultimately stand as one of Ely's best.” — Jim Hynes / Elmore
“Though he resists genre categorization, the West Texas maverick has been a songwriter without peer for more then four decades.”
— Greg Kot / Chicago Tribune
“With a music career that spans over four decades, Joe Ely has not only created a specific image but an entire genre of music.” — Jan Sikes / Buddy
“All in all (or all my love, as Joe might have it); Full Circle is no HOLY GRAIL but it may give you an idea of the excitement the Ely Band generated when they blew together on the high plains of Lubbock lo those many years ago. And if, somehow, you’ve never heard Joe (perish the thought) this is as good a place to start as any!” — Jon Houlon / Phawker
“The Lubbock Tapes collects two batches of remarkably clean-sounding demos.Though his identity as a passionate, forthright troubadour was fully formed from the start, these 15 tracks offer a fascinating chronicle of Ely’s creative evolution as he expanded his stylistic repertoire by adding driving rock and roll to the weary ballads and honky-tonk shuffles. — Jon Young / Mother Jones
“Still making new music worth hearing — 2015’s Panhandle Rambler is among Austin’s best records of this decade — Ely’s also been digging into his archives lately. Now comes this entirely enjoyable 15-track compilation of previously unreleased demos from 1974 to 1978, documenting the moment Ely’s music began to take shape before his first solo record as well as a period before his third album that shows a shift toward a more rocking band and style. In terms of historical / reissue projects from Austin acts this year, this one’s going to be hard to top.”
— Peter Blackstock / Austin American Statesman– The Guardian
“The Lubbock Tapes provide a unique insight into Ely’s early career and what made him appealing to a variety of songwriters.Highly recommended” — Mike Cobb / Elmore
“Four and a half stars! (out of five). The Lubbock Tapes: Full Circle serves as an audio portrait of a developing artist.Four decades after its recording, The Lubbock Tapes: Full Circle can be seen as providing an artistic blueprint for Ely’s rich and varied career.” — Tom Wilk / Icon—Village Voice
“Joe Ely sounds like a Texas version of honky-tonkin’Hank Williams in these first set of countrified outings captured on The Lubbock Tapes but as it unfolds his rock n’ roll persona comes to the fore as well. It’s a look back to the genesis of Ely’s solo career.” —Jim Hynes / Glide Magazine
“It’s put together straight from the emergency we have right now,” says Ely friend and acclaimed artist Terry Allen. “Every song is about love, for love, to love and with love… love when we need it most. Love in the Midst of Mayhem is not just a joy to listen to, it’s a necessity.”
— Terry Allen / Artist
“Is it possible after 50 years to make the very best album of a long and illustrious career? If you’re Joe Ely it absolutely is. Listening to Love in the Midst of Mayhem is to hear why music will always be our guiding light, and Joe Ely is the man beaming that light the brightest. Let it shine.”
— Bill Bentley / Bentley’s Bandstand / Americana Highways
“There are a lot of wonderful songs on Love in the Midst of Mayhem. especially love ‘You Can Rely On Me’ - so sweet a song. As always we can rely on Joe and in this time of Pandemic appreciate his music even more.” — Jo Harvey Allen / Actress, writer
“(Ely) remains a reassuring presence whose easy blend of weary stoicism and gentle empathy suggests everything will eventually turn out more or less ok, which doesn’t sound like bad news at all.”
—Jon M. Young / The Big Takeover
“While this may sound counterintuitive to say about a largely acoustic album, say it I will — the next time the specter of our current conditions gets you down, I beseech you to play this album loud, because I can practically guarantee it will make you feel better. It’s that good. Bless you, Joe Ely.”
—John Michael Antonio / Americana Highways
“Leave it to Joe Ely to deliver the first set of songs meant directly for this health pandemic. There is an intimacy to these songs that inevitably conveys warmth and though sparse at times in terms of accompaniment, the musicians always stay sensitive and the production values come through brilliantly. Thanks to Joe Ely for keeping us grounded and reminding us of what’s important.”
— Jim Hynes / Glide Magazine
"Listening to The Flatlanders’ “Treasure of Love” is like strolling into a corner honky-tonk and discovering an old friend on the next barstool.”
“Perfect in vision, voice, harmony – not to mention timing – Treasure of Love delivers quintessential Flatlanders.” (5 Stars) - Austin Chronicle, Raoul Hernandez
“What’s amazing is how ageless these singers sound on these timeless standards.” - 8/10, PopMatters, Steve Horowitz
