![\"\"](\"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Radney-1-190x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Radney Foster\u2019s latest album, For You to See the Stars, <\/em><\/strong>(Devil\u2019s River Records, 2017) has been out for a good while now, and I\u2019ve listened to it so many times I know it verbatim. It is a collection of songs that are so special, so heartfelt, and so perfectly delivered that I never grow tired of it. I suppose that\u2019s a good thing, because I spent a good portion of last night listening to Foster perform songs from this album and several others at two back-to-back, nearly sold-out shows at The Mucky Duck in Houston.<\/p>\nThe album, which he released with a companion book of short fiction with the same name, is an Americana jewel, and I was hoping that last night\u2019s show would feature quite a few songs from it. I got my wish right off the bat, when Foster opened with the title track. From that moment, I could tell this evening was going to be really special, and I was not disappointed. Foster entertained his appreciative crowd for about 3 hours –which were split into 2 separate shows, each featuring some different song choices from a vast musical catalogue that spans over 3 decades. And if that wasn\u2019t enough, Foster also treated us to several readings from his book and played their musical counterparts after each story. Paired with the intimacy and ambiance of The Duck, Foster\u2019s 2 performances were fluid and flawless, and offered his fans a deeply personal glimpse into part of why Foster is such a beloved and revered performer.<\/p>\n
Highlights of the evening proved to be too numerous to count but would certainly include Foster reading one short story from his book entitled \u201cBridge Club,\u201d set in 1963 when Foster was about 4 years old. He had just learned from his father that he didn\u2019t have to dash back to the house every time he needed to use the bathroom while playing outside but could instead just pee against one of the large shade trees in the backyard. What transpires next in the story is both humorous and heartbreaking, and Foster had his crowd spellbound as he read the final paragraphs from this touching, poignant tale. He then launched into the story\u2019s companion song, \u201cThe Greatest Show on Earth,\u201d and brightened the mood once again with its homespun lyrics, upbeat tempo, and sincere delivery.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Radney-3-300x265.jpg\")
<\/a>Throughout the evening, Foster regaled his audience with stories from his past–back when he was just hitting the music scene, and anecdotes from more recent times as well. He sprinkled in some old fan favorites, told some jokes, and kept a copy of his book near at hand, mixing in a story or two and playing its corresponding song. He also told a great story of how, when he was first asked to perform at The Grand Ole Opry after the release of his debut solo record, Del Rio, Texas 1959,<\/em><\/strong> (which garnered him 4 top ten hits, including \u201cJust Call Me Lonesome\u201d and \u201cNobody Wins\u201d) he flew his parents in to see him perform, and, after Del Reeves gushed about how he was an up-and -coming sensation, introduced him as \u201cRandy Forrester.\u201d As the audience chuckled, he told them that from that point forward, he began every show by saying, \u201cMy name is Radney Foster, and I\u2019m from Del Rio, TX,\u201d and proceeded to play a rousing rendition of \u201cJust Call Me Lonesome.\u201d Other noteworthy tunes from the evening\u2019s 2 shows included \u201cReal Fine Place to Start,\u201d (Another Way to Go, <\/em><\/strong>2002), \u201cSycamore Creek\u201d and \u201cHowlin\u2019\u201d (For You to See the Stars<\/em><\/strong>), \u201cHalf of My Mistakes,\u201d (This World We Live In, <\/em><\/strong>2006), \u201cCalifornia,\u201d (Everything I Should Have Said, <\/em><\/strong>2014), and \u201cAngel Flight,\u201d a song he co-wrote with Songwriting with Soldiers founder Darden Smith. He also slipped in a few words about how Nicole Kidman, after hearing his song \u201cI\u2019m In,\u201d got Keith Urban to record it, and jokingly thanked Urban for all the mornings that he gets to eat pancakes in his \u201cKeith Urban Memorial Kitchen\u201d at home, due to Urban recording and making a smash hit out of \u201cRaining on Sunday,\u201d which he also performed, much to the delight of his crowd.<\/p>\n