This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
The title sounds like an oxymoron, but believe it or not, it’s the God’s honest.
From the late ’50s to the late ’90s, hillbilly trio The Sundowners were indeed Chicago country legends, holding court in various Windy City watering holes, serving as house band on a local TV show — and accumulating a jawdropping repertoire of some 15,000 songs. On this disc — easily their most high-profile release — you get a couple of dozen live ones, recorded at gigs between 1960 and ’71 (with one track from 1988). The set list encompasses everything from saddletramp classics like Cimarron and Clementine to folky fare like Tom Dooley, alt-country numbers like Robbie Fulks’ Cigarette State and even Beatles oldies like Something. What remains constant, however, are the band’s light touch and easy confidence — the jazzy guitars, zippy beats and twangy harmonies of these tracks are all tossed off with the sort of graceful prowess that can only come from decades of practice. And a set list that would take decades to get through.
