Noel Coppage
Waylon's last album was hurt by having too many vaguely similar songs in it, and this one ["Ol' Waylon"] is quite a radical departure from that: here is what they used to call a mixed bag. Mostly it's a good one, much more interesting than "Are You Ready for the Country," and only a little too interesting in a negative way a few times. These have to do not with versatility … but with how he identifies with a particular song: Luckenbach, Texas and If You See Me Getting Smaller portray characters he can get into playing; Lucille (which first caught on for Kenny Rogers) and Sweet Caroline (a golden oldie by Neil Diamond) are supposed to come out of the heads of characters Waylon can't quite see himself being…. It's not a great Waylon album but it's a good Waylon album. (pp. 93-4)
Noel Coppage, "Popular Discs and Tapes: 'Ol' Waylon'," in Stereo Review (copyright © 1977 by Ziff-Davis Publishing Company), Vol. 39, No. 2, August, 1977, pp. 93-4.
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