Billy Ray Reynolds – Whole Lot Of Memories
A guitarist for Waylon Jennings for a dozen years beginning in the mid-1960s and an Allman Brothers Bandsman for another year, Billy Ray Reynolds is still perhaps best known as a songwriter; his “It’ll Be Her”, included here, charted in five separate versions between 1973 and 1982, and he’s had cuts with Waylon, Johnny Cash, Tompall Glaser, Tanya Tucker and others. He’s currently playing with labelmate Billy Joe Shaver. Now he’s pushing 60 and still wearin’ jeans, with this debut solo album to show for it.
The ghost of Waylon hovers over it, naturally enough, especially on tracks such as “Steel Ball” and “Whatever Turns You On”, and Merle Haggard joins Billy Ray on “Two Step Me”. But Reynolds remains very much his own man, with a baritone full of bright highs and deep crags. As a writer — only three of these songs don’t bear his credit — he’s from the school of hard knocks, with efforts such as “Whole Lot of Memories”, “Saratoga” and “Atlanta’s Burning Down” (the title tune from Dickey Betts’ third solo album) reflecting a Haggish experience and wisdom.
But it’s his melodies, not the rhythms, that give Reynolds’ songs their forward thrust and momentum. And his reading of Zach Van Arsdale’s “Tumbleweed” is a masterful blend of weariness and durability (“Once you pull all your roots free/You become a slave to the wind”), with a pealing pedal steel counting off the years. There’s nothing fancy here, but it’s all solid, straight-ahead country, and a welcome reminder that still waters run deep.