Joe Ely has created a fabulous legacy of Texas recordings, from his days in the Flatlanders with Jimme Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, via the Clash, and today his own Tex-Mex tales of the flatlands in and around Lubbock TX.

Hard to pin down as a genre, Ely's work is every element of rock, blues and country mixed together - but on his 2008 release Live Cactus he strips it down to bare essentials of acoustic guitar, the expert and deft accordian of Joel Guzman and THAT voice.

UK fans that enjoyed Joe Ely on his spring tour of 2007 will be accustomed to the format, and the Live Cactus acoustic outing adds in the attraction of a cameo appearance by Joe's near-protege, Ryan Bingham. Throw in a Townes standard and there is little left to say.  Simply one of the best live albums of recent times.

• Up on the Ridge
• Slow You Down
• Because of the Wind
• All Just to Get to You
• Miss Bonnie and Mr. Clyde
• Letter to Laredo
• Where Is My Love?
• Ranches and Rivers
• All That You Need
• Wind's Gonna Blow You Away
• Maybe She'll Find Me
• I'm a Thousand Miles From Home
• White Freightliner Blues