Billy Joe Shaver: Billy and The Kid : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Even non-believers have to admire devout Christian and Texas songwriting legend Billy Joe Shaver's faith. The man has endured a seemingly unbearable amount of tragedy, losing fingers on a long-ago manual labor gig, then losing his mother, wife, and son between 1999 and 2000. Son Eddy, 38, was Billy Joe's musical partner in the band Shaver, and had been working on recordings of his own when he overdosed on heroin. Billy Joe finished these sessions and released Billy and the Kid, adding vocals and lyrics where necessary. It couldn't have been easy, and at times the words choke him up, like on the acoustic ballad that opens the disc ("Fame"). The project is a celebration of Eddy Shaver's talent, and his torment. Eddy was an extraordinary electric guitarist who could be searing ("Velvet Chains") or contemplatively bluesy ("Necessary Evil"), and invoked Southern rock heroes like the Allman Brothers ("Eagle on the Ground") and ZZ Top ("Step On Up"). His tough, beautiful voice is the most haunting on "Baptism of Fire" -- you can hear the tug of war between sex, drugs and God over Eddy's soul.