Joe Ely: Joe Ely (MCA 2242 $6 98; MCA T-2242, tape $7.98)
Joe Nick Patoski, Country Music, May 1977
IT MUST be a bit disheartening for an earnest band knocking around Austin for the past two years hoping for a ride on one of the three W's (Willie/Waylon/Walker) coattails to get completely blown off the road by an unassuming bunch of longhaired kickers from Lubbock. But they'll just have to learn to like it or live with it. Because Joe Ely, a kicker of the West Texas blues, has just come out of nowhere with both barrels firing hot enough to stun the jade out of at least one critic's ears.
Total word count of piece: 365
