Excellent in composition, production, and sequencing,
The Taker/Tulsa stands the test of time as the first recording by
Waylon Jennings to show what it was he had been crucifying Nash Vegas producers over. The end of his long production relationship with
Chet Atkins (as
Atkins was moved upstairs), his hostile, barely a year tenure with
Atkins pick
Danny Davis, a successful run with
Lee Hazlewood that the establishment on Music Row disowned because it wasn't homegrown, and the final straw with
Atkins protege
Ronnie Light ultimately led
Waylon to hire a new lawyer and manager and begin producing himself.
The Taker/Tulsa is chock-full of
Kris Kristofferson's songs.
Mickey Newbury brought
Kristofferson to
Jennings' attention a couple of years earlier, but this time out,
Jennings decided to theme his recording and showcase
Kristofferson's songs. The result -- despite the fact that the record was culled from over two years of work with
Davis and
Light -- is the first real salvo in the
outlaw movement (not
Ladies Love Outlaws, which was full of demo sessions and unfinished tracks).
Kristofferson's tunes, including
"Loving Her Was Easier," "Sunday Morning Coming Down," "Casey's Last Ride," and others, brought
Jennings closer than ever to the flame, to the dream of producing his own records with his own band. The
Kristofferson tunes stand out, but so does
"Tulsa" by
Wayne Carson Thompson and
Jennings' own
"You'll Look for Me." The albums dovetails together like one session and offers a view of what
Waylon could issue when he got his way. This is one of
Jennings' true classics, and with
Lonesome, On'ry and Mean still a year away. It was the first unruly outing by a man who, along with his friends, was about to change everything. ~ Thom Jurek
