Waylon Jennings: Waylon Forever : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

When Waylon Jennings died in 2002, he left a lot behind — including unreleased vocal recordings and his son Shooter, who has borrowed Dad's outlaw country image in his own career. Now, with backing provided by Shooter and his band, those shelved vocals appear on Waylon Forever, which includes remakes of old Jennings tunes and a cover of Cream's "White Room." At only eight tracks, it feels slight, and Waylon's much-revered baritone isn't always in the best shape: On "Jack of Diamonds," it sounds strained, as if he were trying to muster more gravitas than his throat could handle. But much of Forever rocks confidently, with the band turning out Lynyrd Skynyrd-esque Southern rock on "Ain't Livin' Long Like This." And the collection hints at what made Jennings famous: Amid slow-moving strings on the solidly sung "Outlaw Shit," he croons, "Don't you think this outlaw shit has gotten out of hand?" In doing so, Jennings matches the heart-wrenching quality his old buddy Johnny Cash found on the late-life gem "Hurt," while slyly commenting on his own legacy.