However, 2007's Best isn't quite that album.

That said, if Best doesn't quite present Keen's best material (or even all his best known), there's little arguing that what's here is great stuff; Keen, who compiled this disc, has edited a satisfying sampler, hitting a graceful balance between crowd pleasers like "Merry Christmas from the Family" and "The Road Goes on Forever" (the latter prefaced by a rambling story in which Keen loses his car and his girl but meets Willie Nelson) and more resonant numbers like "Corpus Christi Bay," "Whenever Kindness Fails" and "For Love."

2011 Best. Robert Earl Keen is an archetypical Texas singer/songwriter, someone who can mine both laughter and tragedy from life along the dusty margins of life in the Lone Star State, and seeing that he's been recording good-to-great albums of his material since 1984, a comprehensive and well-programmed compilation offering a fully rounded introduction to his music would be more than welcome. There are no real surprises in the set list on Live at the Ryman, which seems to be the way his audience wants it -- the crowd on this disc is loud and wildly enthusiastic, frequently singing along with Keen and chanting his name between songs as if he were some sort of conquering hero, and Keen and his band serve up the "hits" just the way the fans want 'em. While Keen had recorded a dozen albums by the time this was released, Best draws its 17 tunes from only six discs, two of which are live albums and three of which (Farm Fresh Onions, What I Really Mean and Live at the Ryman) are relatively recent efforts that presumably dominate the second half of this collection because they were easy to license rather than because they represent Keen's finest work.

View Profile. Robert Earl Keen covered Daddy Frank, Wild Wind, I'll Go on Downtown, No Kinda Dancer and other songs. 2006 What I Really Mean. Keen's road band is in solid form here (with the great Danny Barnes sitting in on banjo), and though Keen has sung these songs with more soul, he's never short on fire and brings a showman's passion to the presentation. Robert Earl Keen (born January 11, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and entertainer living in the central Texas hill country. What it does contain is, arguably, the best ten songs (five each) from Keen's two albums made for Arista Nashville Records, Picnic (1997) and Walking Distance (1998). If you're looking for a concise, career-spanning overview of Robert Earl Keen's long career in music, Best isn't as much help as you might wish, but the consistent quality is a sure convincer if you or someone you know wants some evidence of Keen's very real talent as a tunesmith and a performer. Robert Earl Keen is an archetypical Texas singer/songwriter, someone who can mine both laughter and tragedy from life along the dusty margins of life in the Lone Star State, and seeing that he's been recording good-to-great albums of his material since 1984, a comprehensive and well-programmed compilation offering a fully rounded introduction to his music would be more than welcome. 2001 Walking Distance. Anyone wishing to purchase an album closer to featuring the best of Keen, however, is directed to Sugar Hill's 2003 compilation The Party Never Ends: Songs You Know from the Times You Can't Remember. Live at the Ryman is the fourth live album from Texas songwriter Robert Earl Keen, and while there isn't much arguing that the man is a terrific performer who knows how to work a crowd, the puzzler is, does the world really need another document of Keen on-stage? Sign in. Live at the Ryman was obviously recorded for Robert Earl Keen's loyal fans, and they won't feel shortchanged by this disc, even if it covers ground he's covered several times before. Song Index; PRO CHARTS . Show all songs by Robert Earl Keen Popular Robert Earl Keen albums Ready for Confetti. Live at the Ryman is the fourth live album from Texas songwriter Robert Earl Keen, and while there isn't much arguing that the man is a terrific performer who knows how to work a crowd, the puzzler is, does the world really need another document of Keen on-stage? Best of all is the touching "Feelin' Good Again," a closely observed slice-of-life song. The Party Never Ends: Songs You Know from the Times You Can't Remember. It's not an unfair question, but at very least Live at the Ryman captures him on a better than average night.

BMG Special Products' budget-priced 2004 compilation The Best of Robert Earl Keen does not contain the best of Robert Earl Keen. Robert Earl Keen wrote Paint the Town Beige, Sing One for Sister and Shades of Gray. BMG Special Products' budget-priced 2004 compilation The Best of Robert Earl Keen does not contain the best of Robert Earl Keen.What it does contain is, arguably, the best ten songs (five each) from Keen's two albums made for Arista Nashville Records, Picnic (1997) and Walking Distance (1998). It's not an unfair question, but at very least Live at the Ryman captures him on a better than average night. Thankfully, Keen seems pretty jazzed by the crowd's enthusiasm (no wonder, since he was getting such a warm welcome at Nashville's former home of the Grand Ol' Opry), and he and his band deliver these 14 songs with a large portion of energy. Quite frankly, a number of Keen's best songs are missing, such as "Dreadful Selfish Crime," "The Front Porch Song" and "I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight," while fan favorites like "The Five Pound Bass," "The Buckin' Song," "Barbecue" and "The Bluegrass Widow" don't make the cut, either. Upgrade. Keen's brief major-label sojourn did not produce any hits, but it did produce some good songs, and here they include some well-produced country-rockers, such as a version of Dave Alvin's "Fourth of July," and a couple of examples of Keen's zany sense of humor, "Then Came Lo Mein" and "That Buckin' Song." 2005 Gravitational Forces. There is no overlap between that album and this one, though, and this one can be purchased cheap, so it would make a good add-on. If the song selection is a bit predictable, why wouldn't you want to hear Keen sing "Gringo Honeymoon," "I'm Comin' Home," "Corpus Christi Bay," or even "Merry Christmas from the Family" on-stage? Pop Songs; Hot R&B / Hip-Hop Songs; Hot Country Songs; Songwriters & Producers; View All Pro Charts; Newsletters; Subscribe. Robert Earl Keen originally did Daddy Frank, Wild Wind, I'll Go on Downtown, No Kinda Dancer and other songs.