It took the Sundazed label a while to reissue this one on CD. They did the
Buck Owens Capitol catalog back in the 1990s and did a stellar job, but this one they waited on. Perhaps it was best. In 2003 there were far more people interested in country gospel again. But this is no ordinary country gospel album. This isn't
the Carters or
the Louvins. This is honky tonk country gospel done Bakersfield style.
Owens toned down his
Buckaroos approach not a bit to record this. If anything, in listening to the opener, "Pray Every Day," or "When Jesus Calls All His Children In" or "Bring It to Jesus" or the rollicking "Would You Be Ready," the slippery guitar and pedal steel-heavy arrangements make this record feel more like a late-night barroom drinking and dancing set than something to be played for church. And that makes perfect sense. Didn't Jesus come to call sinners and not the righteous? What better way than to have the careening sound of
the Buckaroos as a soundtrack for salvation?
Dust on Mother's Bible is one of the great
Buckaroos albums and once again displays
Owens' singular place in the pantheon of country music.