Search - Buck Owens :: Collection

Not nearly enough of a great thing

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 04/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's hard to believe, but at 3 full CDs, this box leaves you wanting more Buck Owens. Rhino's done a nice job of presenting a comprehensive overview of Owens' career, from his earliest duets with Rose Maddox, through his "comeback" duet with Dwight Yoakam, and latter-day hit, "Hot Dog." It might have been interesting if a few of Owens' earlier sessions for Capitol (as a guitarist) were included, as well as his debut rockabilly single (as Corky Jones).Still, what's here is magnificent. It can be difficult to see (in hindsight) what an impact Owens had on country music, and the domination that he exercised over the charts. His music, well represented in this box, certainly makes the case. The twin telecasters of Owens and Don Rich, as well as their harmony singing, are blueprints of electric country music. Owens' songs, and those from the pens of others, are delivered with an originality that only the very best ever achieved.Perhaps the only shortcoming of this box is the enormous number of album tracks that they couldn't fit. Given Sundazed's reissue of all of Owens' original Capitol LPs, this generous 3-disc box (with excellent liner notes and historical photos) starts to feel like a sampler! A great place to whet your appetite."

California country music at its finest

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 10/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When most people think of country music, they tend to think of Tennessee and Texas but California has a strong country music tradition of its own exemplified by the success of Buck Owens. He had a lot of success with his own record, while his songs provided hits for others and he was also an inspiration for other Californians including Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam. This compilation contains three CD's of Buck's finest music.



The box includes all of Buck's classics including Above and beyond (later successfully revived by Rodney Crowell), Act naturally (which was covered by the Beatles), Love's gonna live here, Together again, I've got a tiger by the tail and many others. Buck also wrote Crying time but released it on a B-side. Ray Charles covered it and had a huge pop hit with it. You can find Buck's version here. Buck originally recorded Streets of Bakersfield in 1974 but the song only became successful when Dwight Yoakam decided to cover it as a duet with Buck. Both versions are included here.



Apart from Dwight, this features other notable guests including Susan Raye (Buck's duet partner in the early seventies), Rose Maddox (on Loose talk and Mental cruelty), Emmylou Harris (singing Play Together again again) and Ringo Starr (on a re-recording of Act Naturally).



While Buck wrote many of his own songs, he also had big country hits with cover versions. Here, you will find his superb versions of Save the last dance for me, Johnny B Goode, Bridge over troubled water and Roll in my sweet baby's arms.



A close look at the Billboard country charts will show that one or two big hits are missing, but that doesn't really matter. Real country music fans will find much to get excited about here."

Great overview and introduction

Kathy Lonquist (lonquist@nmia.com) | Belen, NM | 06/10/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the man who almost singlehandedly invented the Bakersfield sound. If you haven't listened to Buck before, this is the place to start, as it covers his earliest raw cuts, some with Rose Maddox, into the Dwight Yoakam-inspired revival. Full of fiddles and steel guitar but also full of raunchy rock-stylings of the late Don Rich on guitar. If all you know of Buck is from the hokey overall-tinged Hee Haw spots, listen to this before you decide."