Waylon Jennings - Waylon Live (RCA/BMG)

Waylon didn’t coin the outlaw attitude in country (that honor arguably belongs to Johnny Cash), but he certainly lived it and sold it to legions of fans. Whether with his single finger salute to the Nashville old boy’s network or his willingness to plunder the regions of rock, blues and pop for bricks in his personal sound, Waylon bucked tradition while still borrowing the best it had to offer. The “take it or leave it” aura also reflected in his stripped down band the Waylors- a tough as hardtack seven-piece of three guitars, pedal-steel, harmonica, bass and drums. No schmaltzy keyboards or strings allowed within sight of the stage. His personage likewise struck a purposeful pose. From the hand-tooled saddle leather carapace of his Telecaster to the high-collared rhinestone shirts, cowhide vests, dungarees and boots, to the shaggy Southern rock mane and beardstache, all crowned with the rich wounded drawl that was another cousin to Cash, Waylon emphasized wide open space over the confining weight of overproduction and artifice. Everything comes to boil on this seminal live smorgasbord from ’74, a body of music that’s ballooned to over four times its originally circulated size over the course of consecutive reissues. Dubbed The Expanded Edition, BMG’s 2003 version looks to be definitive: 42 cuts (22 previously unreleased) and well over two hours of material culled from a three show stint in Dallas and Austin. It’s more than enough for any self-respecting country fan to gorge his or her ears on several times over. From the crowd-coaxing cover of Jimmy Rogers’ “T for Texas” with a chugging freight train rhythm, stinging pedal steel from old pro Ralph Mooney and wailing blues harp by Roger Crabtree, to the sturdy sign off “You Can Have Her” the band jockeys that tight/loose continuum we here at Bags are so fond of debating. Other burners include “Lonesome, On’ry and Mean” where Waylon captures the autarchic Americana spirit in a concentrated 3:23 receptacle, autographing the lyrics with some ripping twang-saturated runs and “Honky Tonk Heroes,” one of his hugest hits were he pays respects to the rowdy ways of the past masters. All are in the two to four minute range and their brisk pacing keeps things from lagging or faltering. Even tears-in-beer ballads like “Amanda” and “Mona” preserve a satisfying simplicity. It’s like a killer honky tonk jukebox made flesh with stimulants aplenty for the involuntary onset of White Man’s Overbite. Stacked beside Live at Fulsom Prison and Joe Ely’s Live Shots it ties as a tip-top trifecta soundtrack for any interstate road trip.