T. Graham Brown's first greatest-hits collection is a brief, ten-song anthology that compiles nine of his first ten chart hits in chronological order, omitting his first hit "Drowning in Memories" in favor of the non-hit rocker "R.F.D. 30529," a staple of his live shows.
Brown's country-soul style fits into the tradition of
Charlie Rich and
Ronnie Milsap, but he prefers to describe his sound as a cross between
George Jones and
Otis Redding. The influence of the latter is especially apparent. Most of
Brown's hits are soulful, slickly produced ballads that freely incorporate rock and R&B elements, from the outright R&B ballads "I Tell It Like It Used to Be" and "Come as You Were" to the rock & roll sax solo heard on the humorous "Brilliant Conversationalist." All nine of these chart singles reached the Top 10, and three reached Number One during what was
Brown's most commercially successful period. After the release of Greatest Hits, he went on to score another half-dozen hits that included two more Top 10 entries, so
Brown's last three years at Capitol are not represented at all on this collection. Fans looking for a complete summary of
Brown's Capitol hits will find it on Déjà Vu All Over Again: The Best of T. Graham Brown. Greatest Hits, while incomplete, is a succinct anthology of
Brown's big hits and is available at budget prices, but the ballad-heavy collection doesn't paint an entirely accurate picture of what
Brown is all about; his original Capitol albums are much more stylistically varied than these hits may suggest. ~ Greg Adams, All Music Guide
