"This album saluting Waylon Jennings, the country great who died last year at 64, stays true to the outlaw spirit of his life and music--always raucous and original.  The disc takes some interesting approaches with Jennings's material, with female singers making a surprisingly strong showing. Carlene Carter ends up being the perfect choice to sing Waylon's personal anthem, "I've Always Been Crazy," Norah jones gracefully renders the touching "Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want To Get Over You)" and Allison Moorer beautifully delivers "Storms Never Last" with her shimmering voice.  Not to be outdone by the ladies, Radney Foster and Alejandro Escovedo also do Jennings proud."~People Magazine

"Jennings's death at 64 in 2002 closed the casket on a Johnny Cash-like resurgence.  That's a shame: Songs like "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" shivved establishment Nashville and made Jennings the outlaw prophet of alt-country.  He bowed to Austin, not Music City, and this loving tribute teems with Texans (Guy Clark, Alejandro Escovedo).  Perfect for melancholy night drives, although Norah Jones' "Wurlitzre Prize" will make you so weepy, you might crash your pickup. Grade B+"~Entertainment Weekly

"Considering that tribute albums containing any more than one or two tracks worth keeping are rarer than dead legends without a tribute album, the fact that Lonesome, On'ry and Mean holds up from beginning to end seems a minor miracle. Actually, it's just a case of good taste over good marketing: pick artists with an honest-to-god connection (personal or attitude wise) to Waylon Jennings, rather than ones with current chart hits. The only example of the latter you'll find here is Norah Jones, whose only connection to Ol' Waylon seems to be that they both played with Willie Nelson. But that said, her smoky version of "Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)" beats anything off her Grammy lauded debut. Everyone else -- from Texas songsters like Guy Clark ("Good Hearted Woman") and Nanci Griffith ("You Asked Me To") to grizzled old punks John Doe ("Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line") and Henry Rollins (the title track) -- flies well under the commercial radar and connects with their chosen songs with smart bomb precision. Case in point: Any album that hands Carlene Carter the keys to "I've Always Been Crazy" is dangerously on target. Damn straight, Waylon done it this way. 4 stars"~ Rolling Stone.com