Country music from a fan's point of view since 2008
1959: Don’t Take Your Guns To Town — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1969: Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass — Buck Owens and his Buckaroos (Capitol)
1979: I Just Fall in Love Again — Anne Murray (Capitol)
1989: Baby’s Gotten Good At Goodbye — George Strait (MCA)
1999: How Forever Feels — Kenny Chesney (BNA)
2009: It Won’t Be Like This for Long — Darius Rucker (Capitol)
2019: Beautiful Crazy — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): Beautiful Crazy — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
1959: Don’t Take Your Guns To Town — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1969: Only The Lonely — Sonny James (Capitol)
1979: I Just Fall in Love Again — Anne Murray (Capitol)
1989: New Fool At an Old Game — Reba McEntire (MCA)
1999: You Were Mine — Dixie Chicks (Monument)
2009: Sweet Thing — Keith Urban (Capitol Nashville)
2019: Beautiful Crazy — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): Beautiful Crazy — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
1959: Don’t Take Your Guns To Town — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1969: Only The Lonely — Sonny James (Capitol)
1979: Golden Tears — Dave & Sugar (RCA Records)
1989: From a Jack to a King — Ricky Van Shelton (Columbia Nashville)
1999: You Were Mine — Dixie Chicks (Monument)
2009: Sweet Thing — Keith Urban (Capitol Nashville)
2019: Beautiful Crazy — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): Beautiful Crazy — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
1959: Don’t Take Your Guns To Town — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1969: Only The Lonely — Sonny James (Capitol)
1979: Golden Tears — Dave & Sugar (RCA Records)
1989: Don’t You Ever Get Tired (Of Hurting Me) — Ronnie Milsap (RCA)
1999: No Place That Far — Sara Evans (RCA Nashville)
2009: God Love Her — Toby Keith (Show Dog Nashville)
2019: Beautiful Crazy — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): Beautiful Crazy — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
1959: Don’t Take Your Guns To Town — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1969: To Make Love Sweeter For You — Jerry Lee Lewis (Smash)
1979: Golden Tears — Dave & Sugar (RCA Records)
1989: I Still Believe In You — The Desert Rose Band (MCA/Curb)
1999: I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing — Mark Chesnutt (Decca)
2009: Down The Road — Kenny Chesney & Mac McAnally (Blue Chair/BNA)
2019: Beautiful Crazy — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): Beautiful Crazy — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
1959: Don’t Take Your Guns To Town — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1969: Until My Dreams Come True — Jack Greene (Decca)
1979: Every Which Way But Loose — Eddie Rabbitt (Elektra)
1989: I Sang Dixie — Dwight Yoakam (Reprise)
1999: I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing — Mark Chesnutt (Decca)
2009: Feel That Fire — Dierks Bentley (Capitol Nashville)
2019: Tequila — Dan + Shay (Warner Bros. Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): This Is It — Scotty McCreery (Triple Tigers)
One listen to Hayes Carll’s What It Is and it becomes abundantly clear he’s using these twelve songs, his first new music in three years, to express himself fearlessly. The album is a split personality with one parts love, Carll is engaged to Allison Moorer, whom he plans to wed later this year, and one parts social commentary.
Not surprisingly, it’s the latter that wins the fight for dominance, and while it may seem repetitive to hear another artist use their music to vent their frustrations, or as Carll puts it “get off the sidelines,” few execute as uniquely and memorably as he does here.
The first of these songs is the solely written “Times Like These,” an effective rocker about our current political climate and how Carll desires “to do my labor, love my girl and help my neighbor while I keep a little hope in my dreams” which he says is “sure getting hard brother in times like these.” Less successful is the eccentric “Wild Pointy Finger,” which begins strong:
It points at the fever and the accomplishes of man
It points at all the problems it don’t understand
It points at Persians across the sea
It points at anybody who thinks differently than me
If you’re marching to your own drum or kneeling in the news
My wild pointy finger is probably pointing right at you
But dissolves into a bizarre rant weighted down by unwieldily symbolism. He rebounds nicely with the excellent “Fragile Men,” in which he talks directly to those who feel the world is undermining their ideals. Carll turns inward on “If I May Be So Bold,” the record’s thesis statement, where he sings about no longer standing in the shadows:
I’ll make my way if I should be so bold
Bold enough to make a difference
Bold enough to say I care
Bold enough to keep on trying
Even when the wills not there
There’s a whole world out there waiting
Full of stories to be told
And I’ll heed the call and tell ‘em all
If I may be so bold
“Jesus and Elvis,” the album’s best-known song thanks to Kenny Chesney, who included it on Cosmic Hallelujah in 2017, is one of those compositions. The title originated with co-writer Matraca Berg, but the story of the bar and its patrons, which is rich with the tiniest of details, from the “neon cross and the string of Christmas lights” to the camaraderie between “old friends,” is all Carll’s.
He bridges the gap between the album’s two halves on the gorgeous “American Dream,” where he uses everyday observances (summer sunshine, tumbleweeds, dresses on a clothesline waiting for Saturday night) to paint an idyllic picture of his life in Texas. The romantic side of the album, largely bolstered by his romance with Moorer, also his co-producer and frequent co-writer, finds him as relaxed as Johnny Cash in the presence of June Carter.
Carll is at his most tender on the sparse “I Will Stay,” the album’s masterpiece and the essence of true love, a relationship ballad where he vows to be there for Moorer through the good times and the bad. He goes back in time on “Beautiful Thing,” a shot of bluesy adrenaline that details the combustion he felt in the infancy of their courtship.
Although Moorer co-wrote “None’ya” with Carll, the song his tribute to her, his perspective on the woman he’ll soon call his wife. He shares intimate details of their lives together, like how she painted the ceiling of their front porch turquoise in order to keep out evil spirits because it’s “the way we do it the south,” and captures her essence in all its eccentricities with beauty and sensitivity.
Given the self-doubt he hints at in “I Will Stay,” it’s safe to assume Moorer is the one taking the lead on “Be There,” which paints a less than optimistic view of the couple’s relationship. The banjo-driven title track, in which she provides background vocals, serves as a reminder that “what it was is gone forever, what it could be god only knows, and what it is, is right here in front of me, and I’m not letting go.”
Carll’s very character is at the heart of the cautionary “Things You Don’t Want To Know,” which is directed at Moorer and his fans and warns against asking questions that can lead to uncomfortable truths you might not be ready to hear.
What It Is may be a record of two halves, showcasing distinctly different sides of a fascinating and complicated man, but it works as a cohesive whole thanks to Moorer and co-producer Brad Jones, who infuse the album with an urgency that binds the songs together with a softness and aggression that reveal Carll’s unwavering assurance in his ideals.
What It Is is a journey worth taking from beginning to end, with not a single pit-stop along the way.
Grade: A
1959: Billy Bayou — Jim Reeves (RCA Victor)
1969: Daddy Sang Bass — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1979: Every Which Way But Loose — Eddie Rabbitt (Elektra)
1989: Song of the South — Alabama (RCA)
1999: Stand Beside Me — Jo Dee Messina (Curb)
2009: She Wouldn’t Be Gone — Blake Shelton (Warner Bros)
2019: Tequila — Dan + Shay (Warner Bros. Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): Girl Like You — Jason Aldean (Broken Bow)
During the late 1960s-early 1970s, Columbia Records tried to mine their back catalog of songs by releasing two album sets with gatefold covers. These typically took three different directions:
A) Mixed artists compilations of singles, album tracks (often Columbia artists covering hits of artists on other labels).
B) Compilations of an artists’ miscellaneous older singles and album tracks into a two-album set. In some cases (The World of Ray Price comes to mind) the singles would represent remakes of the original hits recorded in stereo and often with slick ‘Nashville Sound’. In other cases (such as The World of Johnny Cash, The World of Lynn Anderson, The World of Tammy Wynette or The World of Flatt & Scruggs) the compilation consisted of album tracks from out of print albums with perhaps a few singles mixed in 1960. C) Re-recordings of an artist’s greatest hits, but not utilizing the slick ‘Nashville Sound” production often associated with country production of the period. I can think of only two albums that fit
C) Re-recordings of an artist’s greatest hits, but not utilizing the slick ‘Nashville Sound” production often associated with country production of the period. I can think of only two albums that fit in this category. One of these albums was The World of Johnny Horton, where Columbia had some material in the can which had light post-production applied to some tracks after Horton’s premature death in 1960.
The other album was The Carl Smith Anniversary Album: 20 Years of Hits.
Largely forgotten today, or remembered as the father of Carlene Carter, during the 1950s Carl Smith was a huge star, ranking behind only Webb Pierce, Eddy Arnold and, Hank Snow among the stars of the 1950s. His songs were solidly country; however that was nothing revolutionary or pioneering about his sound as many of Carl’s hits could have fit comfortably on 1940s country playlists. Although his success fell off sharply after rock & roll hit, still he persevered long enough to roll up 93 chart hits by the time he retired in the mid-1970s.
Although Carl had a very good voice, there was too much east Tennessee in Carl’s voice for him to make the Jim Reeves/Eddy Arnold/Ray Price turn toward pop balladry and his voice was far too deeply masculine for him to record the effeminate sounds of rock & roll or doo wop. Still he continued to have a number of top twenty hits during the 1960s. Although Merle Haggard is given deserved credit for the western swing resurgence of the 1970s, Carl’s music had been turning toward western swing sounds during the latter 1960s.
With this album, many of Carl’s biggest hits were recast as western swing, with other songs given a more jazzy feel just short of western swing.
Here are the songs on the album with some comments on each:
“Hey Joe” was a 1953 hit for Carl, spending eight weeks at #1 in 1953. This recording has a definite swing arrangement.
“Back Up Buddy” reached #2 for Carl in 1954
“She Called Me Baby” was a minor hit for Carl (#32 Billboard / #20 Record World) in 1965. The song was a cover of a Patsy Cline hit from 1962 and Charlie Rich would take the song to #1 in 1974. The arrangement on this version differs little from Carl’s 1965 recording with some extra horns being the main difference.
“Deep Water” would prove to be Carl’s biggest hit of the 1960s, reaching #6 on Record World and #10 on Billboard in 1967. Written by Fred Rose and recorded by Bob Wills (among others), this version differs little from Carl’s 1967 recording, with some extra horns being the main difference.
“Foggy River” was the follow-up to “Deep Water” breaking into the top twenty. The arrangement is an up-tempo modern country arrangement minus the strings of the Nashville Sound. Kate Smith had a pop hit with the song in 1948.
“Pull My String And Wind Me Up” was a top twenty hit for Carl in 1970. I recall hearing this on the radio so I think that this was the jazzy version released as a single.
“Heartbreak Avenue” was released as a single in1969. The song is a slow ballad and features a bluesy arrangement and vocal by Carl.
“Good Deal Lucille” was a single released in 1969 that broke into the top twenty. The version on this album swings a little harder than the single release.
“It’s All Right” was not released as a single but has a nice swing feel with some nice saxophone.
“I Love You Because” was a #3 pop hit for Al Martino in 1963 and was recorded as an album track that same year by Jim Reeves (and was released as a posthumous Jim Reeves single in 1976). The song was written by blind country singer Leon Payne and reached #4 for Leon in 1949. Carl’s 1969 release reached #14 – the single was very similar to this recording. Basically, the steel guitar is the lead instrument for much of this track.
“I Overlooked An Orchid” was an early recording for Carl Smith. Released in 1950, the song never charted but was a regional hit for Carl, and apparently sold quite well despite its lack of chart activity. The song would become a #1 hit for Mickey Gilley in 1974.
‘Mister Moon” was Carl’s second hit from 1951, a song that reached #4 and spent 17 weeks on the charts. The song features standard country production but no strings or background singers.
“I Feel Like Cryin’” reached #7 in early 1956 as the B side of “You’re Free To Go” which topped out at #6. Again the song features standard production minus strings, but with some harmony vocals.
“There She Goes” reached #3 for Carl in 1955 and spent 25 weeks on the charts. Jerry Wallace would have a pop hit with the song in 1961. Once again the song features standard production minus strings, but with some harmony vocals.
“Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way” was Carl’s fourth chart hit for 1951 and his biggest ever hit reaching #1 for eight weeks and spending thirty-three weeks on the charts. This recording is a slow ballad with a jazzy, but not western swing, feel to it.
“Loose Talk” was Carl’s last #1 single reaching the top in early 1955 and staying there for seven weeks during its thirty-two week chart run. The song would be a big hit for the duo of Buck Owens & Rose Maddox in 1961 and become a country standard. The song was written by Freddie Hart and verges on western swing in this version.
“Are You Teasing Me” is a cover of a Louvin Brothers song that reached #1 for Carl in 1952, his third consecutive #1 record. This version is given a jazzy arrangement.
“Don’t Just Stand There” was the following up to “Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way” and it also spent eight weeks at #1, although it faded off the charts after only twenty-four weeks. I would describe this recording as solidly western swing.
“If Teardrops Were Pennies” reached #8 for Carl in 1951, his third charted single of the year. Porter & Dolly would take the song to #3 in 1973.
“I Betcha My Heart I Love You” dates back to Bob Wills, and while no one ever had a hit with the song, it was a staple of many country bands for years. Wanda Jackson had a nice recording of the song, but Carl’s rendition here really swings. Carl himself recorded the song in 1950 but without any chart action.
The Carl Smith Anniversary Album: 20 Years of Hits remains one of my favorite albums, one that I pull out and play frequently. Over the years I have dubbed it onto cassette tapes and also made digital copies of the album. To my knowledge, it has only ever been released on vinyl.
Carl Smith is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and while his 1950s output has been adequately available his post-1950s output has been shamefully under-represented in the digital era.
1959: Billy Bayou — Jim Reeves (RCA Victor)
1969: Daddy Sang Bass — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1979: Why Have You Left The One You Left Me For — Crystal Gayle (United Artists)
1989: What I’d Say — Earl Thomas Conley (RCA)
1999: Stand Beside Me — Jo Dee Messina (Curb)
2009: Country Boy — Alan Jackson (Arista Nashville)
2019: Tequila — Dan + Shay (Warner Bros. Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): Girl Like You — Jason Aldean (Broken Bow)
1959: Billy Bayou — Jim Reeves (RCA Victor)
1969: Daddy Sang Bass — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1979: Why Have You Left The One You Left Me For — Crystal Gayle (United Artists)
1989: Deeper Than The Holler — Randy Travis (Warner Bros)
1999: Wrong Again — Martina McBride (RCA Nashville)
2009: Start A Band — Brad Paisley feat. Keith Urban (Arista Nashville)
2019: Speechless — Dan + Shay (Warner Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): Sixteen — Thomas Rhett (Valory)
1959: Billy Bayou — Jim Reeves (RCA Victor)
1969: Daddy Sang Bass — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1979: Baby I’m Burnin’ — Dolly Parton (RCA Records)
1989: She’s Crazy For Leaving — Rodney Crowell (Columbia)
1999: Right On The Money — Alan Jackson (Arista)
2009: Already Gone — Sugarland (Mercury Nashville)
2019: Speechless — Dan + Shay (Warner Nashville)
2019: Good Girl — Dustin Lynch (Broken Bow)
1958: City Lights — Ray Price (Columbia)
1969: Daddy Sang Bass — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1979: Lady Lay Down — John Conlee (ABC)
1989: Change of Heart — The Judds (RCA/Curb)
1999: You’re Easy On The Eyes — Terri Clark (Mercury)
2009: Here — Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street)
2019: Speechless — Dan + Shay (Warner Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): Speechless — Dan + Shay (Warner Nashville)
It is hard to believe that it has been over 16 years since the Statler Brothers announced their retirement; however when they retired they really meant it. Since 2003 Don Reid has written some books, co-authoring one book with older brother Harold Reid but little else has been heard from Harold and virtually nothing from Phil Balsley. The fourth Statler, Jimmy Fortune was ten years younger than Don Reid and fifteen years younger than Harold Reid and Phil Balsley, so he chose to pursue a solo career. Fortune still performs today, sometimes in conjunction with Dailey & Vincent or other bluegrass acts.
We take country music groups for granted as there have been many successful such acts over the years, with the Oak Ridge Boys, Exile, Restless Heart, Shenandoah, Alabama, Sawyer Brown, Old Dominion and other acts following in the Statler Brothers’ footsteps. While there had been vocal groups before the Statler Brothers, those groups had either been cowboy groups such as The Sons of The Pioneers, The Oklahoma Wranglers (a/k/a The Willis Brothers) and Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage, or else gospel groups such as the Chuck Wagon Gang, The Blackwood Brothers or The Oak Ridge Quartet (from which sprang the Oak Ridge Boys).
Indeed, even the Statler Brothers started out as a gospel group using the name the Kingsmen, changing their name when a west coast group had a hit with a song titled “Louie, Louie”. During this period the group consisted of the Don Reid(lead vocals), Harold Reid (bass vocals), Phil Balsley (harmony vocals) and Lew DeWitt (high tenor vocals). Although the Don usually sang lead vocals, on many songs each member would sing lead on a verse. Because of his unique soaring high tenor, sometimes Lew DeWitt would be the lead on a song.
By that time, the Statler Brothers had already become associated with Johnny Cash and were no longer performing strictly as a gospel group, experimenting with secular music, often novelties. They would remain on the road with Cash from 1963 to 1971 and were signed to Cash’s label Columbia Records from 1964-1969. In 1965 the group scored its biggest ever hit with DeWitt’s “Flowers on the Wall,” which went #2 country / #4 pop was a huge seller internationally and won a Grammy. Subsequent singles for Columbia did not reach that level of success although novelties “Ruthless” and “You Can’t Have Your Kate and Edith, Too” both reached the top ten.
The Statlers signed to Mercury in 1970, find their sound and milieu almost immediately, aided by expert production by Jerry Kennedy, who had helped resurrect the career of Jerry Lee Lewis. Tapping into America’s longing for more peaceable times, the Statler Brothers embarked on a series of albums, dealing with nostalgia in its many forms, while also embracing more modern themes and occasionally some gospel music. Although the group wrote much of its own material, they also used outside material, both new and old, both country and pop in their quest for quality material. From 1970 through 1982 the group charted 36 singles, 17 of which made the top ten (8 into the top five) and another 10 of which reached the top twenty.
In 1983 Lew DeWitt dropped out of the group after battling Crohn’s disease for many years. DeWitt had been missed a number of dates in 1982 and had spotted Jimmy Fortune as a worthy replacement. When DeWitt dropped out, Fortune slid easily into the group. DeWitt had a brief remission from Crohn’s and pursued a solo career but the remission was brief and by 1990 DeWitt had passed away from complications of the disease.
The substitution of Fortune into the lineup added an additional quality songwriter and provided a brief upsurge in the group’s fortunes. While the group had consistently been near the top of the charts only “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine” had reached #1 for the Statlers while DeWitt was in the group. The group would have three more #1 singles, all on songs penned by Fortune (“Elizabeth”, “My Only Love”, and “Too Much On My Heart” but after 1985, radio increasingly turned to younger acts – the last top ten record would be “More Than A Name On The Wall” (about a mother visiting the Vietnam War Memorial to see her son’s name).
Although radio lost interest, The Nashville Network (TNN) did not, and the group hosted a television series for 1991-1998. Although the show’s ratings remained high throughout, new ownership really had no interest in country music and discarded most of TNN’s programming.
The Statler Brothers were the first vocal group to have sustained success in country music (I should note that the Oak Ridge Boys pre-date the Statler Brothers, but they remained a gospel group until 1977). While modern-day country acts seem unaware of the Statler Brothers, their influence on bluegrass has been strong, with Dailey & Vincent being strong proponents of their music and always including several Statler songs in live performance. The Statler Brothers were probably the first country music act to transfer the genre’s tendency toward nostalgia from a rural to a suburban setting. Kurt Vonnegut referred to them as “America’s Poets”. Moreover, the group stayed together unlike many groups which seemed to have a revolving door of group members.
Discography
Vinyl records were the format in which recordings for the Lew Dewitt years were issue. The material on Columbia is pleasant, but the group was still finding its way. I have all of the Mercury albums featuring Lew DeWitt and I regard all of them as priceless treasures. Unfortunately, most of the CDs featuring DeWitt are anthologies that also include the Jimmy Fortune years. The Statler Brothers website does have a four-CD set featuring the group’s first eight albums on Mercury – it sells for $49.95. It is a little pricey but if all you have heard is the radio hits, this is a great place to examine the depth and breadth of the group’s talent.
Actually, I could make the same comment about the Jimmy Fortune years – mostly it is anthologies that are available, but because Jimmy’s entire tenure with the group falls into the digital era, used CDs can be found with a little effort. I will say that the albums of the Jimmy Fortune period tend to be less interesting as albums, although the singles remained strong. I would stay away from the Farewell Concert album which sounds very rushed as if the boys couldn’t wait for the show to be over.
The Statlers continued to issue some recordings after their tenure with Mercury (later Polygram) was over. Some of these recordings can be found on their website.
1958: City Lights — Ray Price (Columbia)
1969: Daddy Sang Bass — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1979: Tulsa Time — Don Williams (ABC)
1989: Hold Me — K.T. Oslin (RCA)
1999: You’re Easy On The Eyes — Terri Clark (Mercury)
2009: Here — Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street)
2019: Speechless — Dan + Shay (Warner Nashville)
2019 (Airplay): Speechless — Dan + Shay (Warner Nashville)
It wasn’t a great year for reissues but there were some bright spots. As always our British and European friends lead the way. Also, please note that these can take a while for foreign titles to become available from US suppliers, so it may be into 2019 before these are generally available.
In those cities that still have adequate recorded music stores (sadly, a rare commodity these days), it can be a real thrill finding a label you’ve not encountered before reissuing something you’ve spent decades seeking. It can be worthwhile to seek out the foreign affiliates of American labels for recordings that the American affiliate hasn’t reissued. For example, there are Capitol recordings not reissued in the US that are available on the UK or European EMI labels. For the rest of us, scanning the internet remains the best alternative.
Unfortunately as the sales of physical CDs continue to plummet, so does the willingness of labels, domestic and foreign, to invest in reissuing material by second and third tier artists. Still missing in action are the catalogues of such significant artists as Liz Anderson, Wilma Burgess, Johnny Darrell, Jack Greene, The Hager Twins, Freddie Hart, Warner Mack, Kenny Price and David Rogers. While there has been a slight uptick in vinyl sales and reissues, most of that has been of only the very top selling artists (and at $22 to $33 per title).
Anyway …
The British label Jasmine issued a number of worthy country releases:
Billy Walker – Well, Hello There – The Country Chart Hits and More 1954-1962. The album features most of Billy’s biggest Columbia hits in decent sound.
Johnny Cash – Change of Address – The Single As and Bs 1958-1962. This release is somewhat redundant as it collects the A&B sides of Cash’s first sixteen Columbia singles. The songs are available elsewhere, but it is nice to have the singles all in one place.
Kitty Wells – I Heard The Juke Box Playing. This two CD set features Kitty’s 1950s solo hits plus a bunch of (not readily available) duets with the likes of Roy Acuff, Webb Pierce and Red Foley. While much of this material had been available in the past, it had been allowed to slip out of print so it is nice to have it available again.
The Collins Kids – Rockin’ and Boppin’. Lorrie and Larry Collins were teenage rockabilly artists backed by the cream of California’s country musicians. Their material has been unavailable for quite a while.
Jasmine isn’t specifically a country label with much of their output being R&B and Rock ‘n Roll, but their country reissues are always welcome. Jasmine also issued an early Homer & Jethro collection from their recordings on King Records, a Lee Hazlewood collection and several mixed artists albums during 2018.
Another British label, Ace Records, usually does a nice job with reissues. Unfortunately, 2018 was a sparse year for country reissues with a Johnny Lee Wills reissue (available only as a digital download) being about it this year.
The British Hux label had a light year as far as country reissues was concerned issuing nothing (that I have been able to find), but they did have a mid-2017 release that slipped my notice last year, a nice Dickey Lee reissue comprised of Dickey’s first two RCA albums from 1971 & 1972 in Never Ending Song Of Love / Ashes Of Love. Dickey Lee was far more successful as a songwriter than as a recording artist, but this pair features four of his hits plus some other songs he wrote including “She Thinks I Still Care”.
The British Humphead label has received criticism for using needle drops but they’ve gotten better at the process and in many cases, theirs are the only available (non-remake) recordings by the artist.
In October Humphead issued the Connie Smith collection My Part of Forever (Vol. 1), comprised of mainly her 1970s recording including tracks recorded for Warner Bros., in the mid-1990s, Sugar Hill in 2011, and rare lost radio performances from the early 1970s. Many of these tracks have been previously unavailable – a real find.
Humphead also had released a three CD Ed Bruce collection and a two CD best of the Kentucky Headhunters collection.
The British BGO label finished its reissue series of Charley Pride’s RCA catalogue with its two CD set consisting of The Best of Charley Pride Volumes 1-3 and Charley Pride’s Greatest Hits VI. At this time virtually everything from Charley Pride’s landmark RCA tenure is now available on CD, either from BGO or from other sources.
BGO also released a two CD set of Charlie McCoy’s first four albums on Monument (The Real McCoy / Charlie McCoy / Good Time Charlie / The Fastest Harp In The South). They are good, but rather more harmonica than I care to listen to at one sitting,
Other BGO sets can be found here.
Germany’s Bear Family Records has been the gold standard for reissues; however, this was a rather quiet year on the country side of the business. On the other hand, the one truly significant set released is a doozy. Bear had previously released vinyl and CD boxed sets on the legendary Lefty Frizzell. In October Bear released a greatly expanded twenty CD set titled An Article From Life – The Complete Recordings. The original Bear set was beyond great and if I had unlimited cash reserves I would buy this set which includes the following:
• Every 45, 78, and LP track from Lefty’s entire career. Every unissued session recording
• Newly-discovered demos and non-session recordings
• Newly-researched biography and discography
• Many previously unseen photos from the Frizzell family’s archives
• A new designed 264 page hardcover book!
• Many previously unissued recordings – a total of 12 CDs of music.
• An audio book on 8 CDs with Lefty’s life history, written and read by his brother David.
As for domestic reissues our friend Ken Johnson helps keep the folks at Varese Vintage on the straight and narrow for their country releases. This year Varese only had one country album released which occurred in November, when Varese issued the John Denver collection Leaving On A Jet Plane. This isn’t really country, but Denver was heavily played on country radio., These tracks come from the 1960s when Denver was part of a late edition of the Mitchell Trio and part of the successor group Denver, Boise and Johnson. The collection features John’s first recordings of “Leaving On A Jet Plane”.
Although not really a reissue, Yep Rock released a nice Jim Lauderdale/ Roland White collaboration that had never before been released. We reviewed it in September 2018 here.
Sony Legacy controls the rights to Columbia/CBS, Epic, RCA, Monument and some other labels as well. In May 2018, Sony Legacy released Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ’70s, a nice two CD set of “Outlaw Era” country. The thirty-six song collection is hardly essential but it is a nice introduction to the era, showcasing the obvious artists along with the likes of Marcia Ball, Rodney Crowell, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Willis Alan Ramsey. This label seems to be Willie Nelson’s current label for new material
Omnivore Recordings spent several years releasing the recordings of Buck Owens. In May of this year they released The Complete Capitol Singles: 1967-1970, a two CD set that seems to have completed their coverage of Buck’s peak period. Since then they have issued Country Singer’s Prayer, the never released last Capitol album, and Tom Brumley’s Steelin’ The Show, featuring Buckaroo and Buck Owens tracks on which Tom’s pedal steel was prominently featured. Neither of the latter two albums are essential but the Brumley collection highlights just what a great steel player was Tom Brumley.
Earlier in 2018, Omnivore released a Don Gibson collection featuring most of Don’s hits on Hickory plus some album tracks.
***
I suppose I should again say a few words about the Gusto family of labels. It appears that Gusto still is in the process of redesigning their website, but plenty of product can be found from other on-line vendors or from retail outlets such as Pottery Barn and various truck stops along the Interstates.
As I mentioned previously, with the exception of the numerous gospel recordings made by Porter Wagoner during the last decade of his life, there is little new or original material on the Gusto Family of labels. Essentially, everything Gusto does is a reissue, but they are forever recombining older recordings into new combinations.
Gusto has accumulated the catalogs of King, Starday, Dixie, Federal, Musicor, Step One, Little Darlin’ and various other small independent labels and made available the music of artists that are otherwise largely unavailable. Generally speaking, older material on Gusto’s labels is more likely to be original recordings. This is especially true of bluegrass recordings with artists such as Frank “Hylo” Brown, The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, Stringbean and Curley Fox being almost exclusive to Gusto.
After 1970, Gusto’s labels tended to be old age homes for over-the-hill country and R&B artists, and the recordings often were remakes of the artists’ hits of earlier days or a mixture of remakes of hits plus covers of other artists’ hits. These recordings range from inspired to tired and the value of the CDs can be excellent, from the fabulous boxed sets of Reno & Smiley, Mel Street and The Stanley Brothers, to wastes of plastic and oxides with numerous short eight and ten song collections.
To be fair, some of these eight and ten song collections can be worth having, if they represent the only recordings you can find by a particular artist you favor. Just looking at the letter “A” you can find the following: Roy Acuff, Bill Anderson, Lynn Anderson, Eddy Arnold, Leon Ashley, Ernie Ashworth, Chet Atkins and Gene Autry. If you have a favorite first or second tier country artist of the 1960s or 1970s, there is a good chance that Gusto has an album (or at least some tracks) on that artist.
Released in 2009, Both Sides Now was Adam’s eighth studio album and second release for Sony Music Australia. Unlike Adam’s previous albums, which were more oriented toward traditional country music, this album featured a wide array of pop music with very little traditional country among the songs selected. Each of the songs also featured with guests mostly from the world of Australian pop music.
Frankly,I expected not to like this album, but I was pleasantly surprised how Adam brought a country feel to the non-country material. Moreover, the strategy of aiming toward the pop market must be adjudged a success as the album was Adams’s first to crack the top twenty albums chart, a place each of Adam’s subsequent albums reached. Plus, this is a pretty good album.
The album opens up with “Stuck In The Middle (With You)” a song composed by Gerry Rafferty and a major pop hit for Gerry’s group Stealer’s Wheel in 1973, becoming a major hit throughout the English- speaking world. Guy Sebastian, an Australian pop star appears with Adam on the song. The arrangement is rather more country sounding than the original hit although it features slide guitar and harmonoica rather than steel guitar.
“Easy” was a top ten pop hit for the R&B group the Commodores and was written by lead singer Lionel Richie. Adam is joined by Wendy Matthews, a pop singer from the 1980s. The rather bland arrangement is true to the original, but Adam’s deep baritone salvages the song.
“Move It On Over” is a humorous Hank Williams classic about an errant husband literally banished to the doghouse for his wayward behavior. Adam is joined by 1990s pop star David Campbell. This song is given a solid county arrangement.
Judy Collins had the big hit in 1968 with Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”. Adam is joined by the McClymont’s, a stunningly attractive trio of Australian pop-country singers. The arrangement is fairly true to the original, although a steel guitar can be heard gently playing in the background. This is a really nice track
“Down On The Corner” was a major pop hit penned by John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Although not specifically a country song, CCR’s swamp pop sound was embraced by country radio in 1969. I’m not sure why Leo Sayer was chosen for this recording, but it works. Sayer was a major British star during the period encompassing the disco era. He moved to Australia and became an Australian citizen in 2009.
“King of The Road” was Roger Miller’s signature song, performed her in somewhat doo-wop arrangement with really minimal instrumentation. Adam is accompanied by John Williamson, an Australian bush balladeer.
“It’s All Over Now” was written by R&B artists Bobby & Shirley Womack. Bobby’s version barely cracked the top hundred for his group the Valentinos, but when the Rolling Stones recorded the song, it soared to #1 in the UK with significant chart placements elsewhere. Adam is joined by Australian pop singer Shannon Noll. This would be a hard song to mess up and Adam & Shannon do a fine job with the song.
Adam is joined by Troy Cassar-Daley, a major Australian country star on the Willie Nelson-RayCharles duet of “Seven Spanish Angels”. The arrangement is true to the original and Adam & Troy handle the vocals with aplomb.
Webb Pierce had a major US county hit with “In The Jailhouse Now” holding down the #1 slot for twenty-one weeks in 1955. The song is far older than that with authorship claimed by the ‘Father of Country Music’ Jimmie Rodgers (1897-1933). It is a fun song with many variations in the lyrics. The arrangement reminds me of the one used by Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers (the alter-ego of the bluegrass band Hot Rize). Cool song with Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson joining in on the fun.
“Have I Told You Lately” is a Van Morrison blues -rocker with Adam joined by Renee Geyer, an Australian R&B/Jazz singer. Ms Geyer takes harmony on this recording, which has some steel guitar on it but is not otherwise very country.
Billy Edd Wheeler has written many fine songs with ”Jackson” being among the most famous. Adam is joined by Beccy Cole, a major Australian county star on this cover of the Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood (or Johnny Cash & June Carter if you prefer) duet.
If you don’t know of Tommy Emmanuel, here is your chance to hear him as he is the man playing guitar on this exquisite recording of Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles”. This may be the nicest track on the album – Adam sings it well, and if there is a better guitar player in the world than Tommy Emmanuel, I have yet to hear him (or her).
Grade: B+ / A-
Adam Harvey released his sixth album, Can’t Settle for Less, in January 2005. It peaked at #20 on the Australian Country Album chart.
Among the album’s 13 tracks are six songs recorded by other artists in the States and likely unfamiliar to Harvey’s audiences Down Under. He opens with a brilliant take on Don Williams’ “I’ve Been Loved By The Best,” a mid-tempo stunner about a man and his recent love.
“I Want My Rib Back” is a silly and somewhat obscure song Keith Whitley had recorded for the Blake Mevis produced follow-up to LA to Miami that was never released. His version eventually saw the light of day on Kentucky Bluebird before the song found its way to Kenny Chesney on his Capricorn debut, In My Wildest Dreams. Harvey does well with the song, which has never been one of my favorites.
“Cadillac Tears” was originally recorded by Kevin Denney for his self-titled debut in 2002. The uptempo honky tonker is gorgeous and finds a woman wallowing that she’s single, despite being very well off financially from her previous lover. “Lady Lay Down” was a #1 single for John Conlee from his Rose Colored Glasses album in 1978. The traditional ballad is wonderful, although a bit slicker than I would’ve expected from Harvey.
“Orphan of the Road” is an old Johnny Cash song about a cowboy and a carnie girl, and their one-time three-day stand. The track is exquisite, with Harvey turning in a revelatory performance framed in a simple acoustic arrangement. “Life Don’t Have To Mean Nothing At All” was written by Tom T. Hall and covered by Joe Nichols on Man With A Memory in 2002. The song itself is charming, and Harvey turns in a fabulous performance of it.
The rest of the album’s tracks are original and credited to Harvey. “That’s Just How She Gets” is an amusing look at a woman’s behavior when her man stumbles home drunk. “The Biggest Fool” is an ear-catching mid-tempo ballad with a seductive traditional arrangement. “God Made Beer” is the first real inane track on the album, which scores points for its working man undertones, but suffers from an unintelligent lyric. “Doghouse” is also a bit silly.
“That’s What You Call A Friend” is a tasteful yet somewhat predictable mid-tempo ballad. “Missing Heroes” is a contemporary traditional ballad typical of the era. “Once Upon A Long Time Gone” is a gorgeous ballad set to an old-time-y country arrangement. Harvey’s vocal is spellbinding. This is the kind of song I could see Lee Ann Womack recording.
Can’t Settle for Less truly is an incredible album of originals mixed between well-chosen songs sung by other artists. It isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty darn close to it. Harvey reminds me a lot of Josh Turner, especially on this album. He has a very similar tone to his voice that is very appealing. This album is also available on Apple Music and iTunes and is well worth checking out.
Grade: A
My Kind of Country 