Track Listing

1. I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today
2. Honky Tonk Amnesia
3. It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman)
4. Don't Anyone Make Love at Home Anymore
5. Bandy the Rodeo Clown
6. Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life
7. She Took More Than Her Share
8. I'm Sorry for You, My Friend
9. Soft Lights and Hard Country Music
10. That's What Makes the Jukebox Play
11. It's a Cheating Situation - Janie Fricke
12. Two Lonely People
13. Barstool Mountain
14. I Cheated Me Right Out of You
15. One of a Kind
16. Yesterday Once More
17. Following the Feeling - Judy Bailey
18. Rodeo Romeo
19. She's Not Really Cheatin' (She's Gettin' Even)
20. Let's Get Over Them Together - Becky Hobbs

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7533 in Music
• Released on: 1996-02-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
"Well, it really tears me up when I hear a hurtin' song," sings Moe Bandy, "and I'm someone who likes a good cold beer." And there you have it: Moe Bandy in a nutshell. That line, from the quintessential Bandy song "Soft Lights and Hard Country Music," sums up his aesthetic quite nicely, but what it doesn't tell you is that Bandy seemed to be the only country singer who had that aesthetic in the 1970s and early 1980s. The Mississippi-born Bandy was raised in Texas and on the music of fellow Meridian native Jimmie Rodgers, honky-tonk master Hank Williams, and eventually his idol George Jones--hear how Bandy pronounces "woman" in "I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today" for proof of his reverence for Possum. Despite the country-pop trends of the day, he saw no reason to ever stray far from the hardcore honky-tonk that's as natural in Texas as cowboy hats. You might say he presaged the neotraditionalism of the late 1980s, except that he really wasn't "reviving" anything. He was merely playing the music he'd always loved, and since all 20 of the singles on this collection hit the Top 25, it appears that fans still loved hard country too, no matter what the popular style was at the time. After all, "a steel guitar in a dim-lit bar knows exactly how I feel." --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

Thank You Moe
If the 1970's would have embraced the sounds of Moe Bandy more than those of Barbara Mandrell, Crystal Gayle, and Kenny Rogers, it would have been a whole different ballgame. The music on this album will remind you of what true country music is all about; I do believe the choice of the album title is appropriate as this is one of those albums that mix well with beer or bourbon (or both). Moe Bandy was definately a stylist who was obviously influenced by George Jones and Hank Williams, but you soon realize that Moe had a style all of his own. It's often overlooked that Moe also had a few notable duets including with Becky Hobbs and Judy Bailey, but his duet with the fabulous Janie Fricke in "It's a Cheatin Situation" will raise the hairs on the back of your neck. I dont think there's a bad song on the album, which is saying something for a 20 track disc. Moe did seem to fizzle out in the 80's after the intro of the neo-traditionalists, which is ironic considering he carried the torch of traditional country in the 70's. I am glad to see that his duets with Joe Stampley were not included here, although I'm sure many will disagree with me. While his duets with Joe were entertaining and deserved all of the air play they recieved, they were not in the same league as the songs included on this album. A+

hard core country at its finest
Moe Bandy had it going big time in the 70's before he lost his edge in the early 80's never to get it back. He went mainstream and soft too bad. But the greatness of his hard core songs live on and I salute him for those. Great album get it and laugh at the kenny chesneys and tim mcgraws of the world for they know not country music. Good bye Nashville you have killed the music but at one time you signed some good ones like ol Moe.

soth lights and hard country music
I don't listen to modern country music because simply it is not country. But when you hear Moe Bandy sing those beer drinking songs about life then you know that's country he's up there with George Jones, George Straite, Allan Jackson, Vern Gosden,and Merl Hager.I love real country!!!