Thursday, January 21, 2010

1057 - Mojo Special 9. Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits (1978)


















Track Listing


Disc 1:

1. Move It On Over
2. A Mansion On The Hill
3. Lovesick Blues
4. Wedding Bells
5. Mind Your Own Business
6. You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)
7. Lost Highway
8. My Bucket's Got A Hole In It
9. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
10. I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Living
11. Long Gone Lonesome Blues
12. My Son Calls Another Man Daddy
13. Why Don't You Love Me
14. Why Should We Try Anymore
15. They'll Never Take Her Love From Me
16. Moanin' The Blues
17. Nobody's Lonesome For Me
18. Cold, Cold Heart
19. Dear John
20. Howlin' At The Moon

Disc 2:

1. I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)
2. Hey, Good Lookin'
3. Crazy Heart
4. (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle
5. Baby We're Really In Love
6. Ramblin' Man
7. Honky Tonk Blues
8. I'm Sorry For You My Friend
9. Half As Much
10. Jambalaya (On The Bayou)
11. Window Shopping
12. Settin' The Woods On Fire
13. You Win Again
14. I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive
15. Kaw-Liga
16. Your Cheatin' Heart
17. Take These Chains From My Heart
18. I Won't Be Home No More
19. Weary Blues From Waitin'
20. I Saw The Light

Review

Here we get 40 of Hank William's greatest hits, and the most interesting thing about it is how little country has really changed throughout the year. Hank completely crystallized the genre with his music and what you hear here is the blue print to country down to our days.

The music itself is pretty great as well, Hank was a great songwriter and even if sometimes some of the tracks draw inspiration form other tracks making it sometimes seem samey, there is a huge variety here.

Hank runs the gamut from depressing (I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry) to sprightly (Hey Good Lookin') to folksy novelty (Jambalaya (On the Bayou)) and he does all these equally well with his slightly nasally voice. It is particularly good to hear him yodelin' at times, he was pretty good at it without losing a certain edge to his voice. And there is a certain edge to the whole thing... and to think all this was recorded before 1952.

Track Highlights

1. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
2. Hey, Good Lookin'
3. Jambalaya (On The Bayou)
4. Kaw-Liga

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

His son Hank Williams, Jr., daughter Jett Williams, grandson Hank Williams III, and granddaughters Hilary Williams and Holly Williams are also country musicians.
Williams ranked #2 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003, behind only Johnny Cash. His son, Hank, Jr., ranked #20 on that same list.

So Lonesome:

No comments: