Review: Wanda Jackson – In Person (Capitol Nashville, 1969/2007)

Wanda Jackson – In Person (Capitol Nashville)

By 1969 Wanda Jackson had long since transitioned from her early, incendiary rockabilly days to straight-ahead country sides. But, as this live album shows, she still displayed plenty of spark and twang on stage. Performing at Mr. Lucky’s in Phoenix, Jackson and harmony vocalist Mike Post mix her own records (“Let’s Have a Party,” “Right or Wrong” and “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”) with country hits (“Jackson,” “Release Me” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”) and recent pop tunes, including a terrific country two-step harmony arrangement of Johnny Nash’s 1968 rocksteady hit “Hold Me Tight.” She sings Joe South’s “Games People Play” with deep conviction, and Post’s duet and harmony vocals are superb. Jackson was a country hit maker into the mid-70s, but her stage act retained all the energy of her earliest rock ‘n’ roll records. She was a gracious stage performer who generously credited her band and worked hard to satisfy her audience, closing out the evening with a cowboy yodel for her Southwest fans. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]