Hank Williams Sr - Gold (42 tracks) +Album Reviews

Same Track Listing/New Title

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 09/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What follows is my original review for the 2002 release entitled THE ULTIMATE HANK WILLIAMS. Why recycle an old review? The same reason that Mercury Nashville would recycle a collection that they still have in print and retitle it GOLD. The two CDs have identical track listings and they even use the same cover photograph. The only real difference between the two is that GOLD is a couple bucks cheaper.

It's still great music, but I question the record company's motive. Anway, here's my original review:

More than fifty years after his untimely death, Hank Williams' influence is still felt across the landscape of popular music. He is one of the few recording artists to have been inducted into both the COuntry Music Hall of Fame (1961) and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1987). Although regarded principally as a country artist, he was at heart a poet, putting into music and words the heartache, pain and loneliness that ultimately consumed him before his thirtieth birthday.

To not have any Hank Williams in your music collection is to leave a gaping hole. The problem is there are some three dozen anthologies to pick from. Is THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION the best? Maybe not, but it has much to offer. The sound quality is very good. The 28-page booklet has plenty of pictures, serviceable liner notes (written by Kira Florita, co-author of "Hank Williams: Snapshots from the Lost Highway"), and recording dates for all 42 tracks. All the biggest hits are here ("Honky Tonkin'," "Cold, Cold Heart," "Hey, Good Lookin'," "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)," et.al.). There are a couple of his songs recorded as Luke the Drifter, including the weeper, "I Dreamed About Mama Last Night." CD-1 is presented chronologically, but CD-2 skips around after the first four tracks. Also, the last six tracks are radio transcriptions. "Why Don't You Love Me" and "Moanin' the Blues" are from a 1950 Grand Ole Opry Show; the final four tracks are taken from a 1949 WSM "Health & Happiness" radio show. The sound on these final tracks are the equal of his studio recordings and if anything add a more intimate and relaxed feel to these performances in front of a live audience.

Overall, this is an excellent overview of Williams' career, and will more than adequately provide the neophyte fan with an understanding of the legend of Hank Williams. [Running Time: Disc 1-59:29, Disc 2-50:05] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

"

HONKY-TONKING MAN

Alfred Johnson | boston, ma | 08/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been listening to a local weekend folk, rock and contemporary music interview show here in Boston for years. The format of the show is to interview, in depth, contemporary well know singers, songwriters and musicians as well as young unknowns looking to make their mark. One of the questions always asked of each interviewee is about formative influences on their musical development. Although I do not believe that I have ever heard what I would consider a country singer interviewed on the show the name Hank Williams has come up many more times than any other from young and old interviewee alike. When New Age- type musicians are going on and on about brother Williams you know something is up. And that is exactly the point. He has been gone for over fifty years yet those well thought out ballads and `jump' country swing tunes still sound pretty damn good.

Sure that is easy for me to say now. Although I was raised in the North my father was from the South, a hillbilly. This is music that I unconsciously heard at my father's knee. But such tunes as Cold, Cold Heart and You're Cheating Heart that he sung to me as a child were his kind of music. It was not until fairly recently that I got the message. In any case this compilation gives as good a cross section of Hank's work as you are liable to get with a mix of heart-felt ballads, some crossover tunes and, as seemingly inevitably in greatest hits packages, some novelty songs that could have justly been left out. I would note that not all of the many Williams compilations are equal either technically or musically. Here the technical quality is more than adequate and the producers seen to have put in the best back up band versions of his material that they could find. So stop Honky-Tonking and get this album.

"

The Great Hank Williams

Tony Douglas | 10/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What can you say about Hank Williams other than he was great. This CD contains all his familiar hits along with a nice collection of songs he sings with just his acoustic guitar and no accompaniment."

"...I'LL NEVER GET OUT OF THIS WORLD ALIVE" (Hank Williams G

ol' nuff n' den sum | the Virginia coast, USA | 06/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To say that the life of Hank Williams has been a major influence on modern music wouldn't be an exaggeration in the least. While it would be impossible to overstate his influence on country music, as a singer-songwriter and maverick poet/artist he has been an instrumental factor in the development of rock n' roll, country-rock and folk music as well.

In 1953, Hank Williams died at age 29 in the back seat of a Cadillac somewhere between Knoxville, Tennessee and Oak Hill, West Virginia while on the way to play a New Year's Day show in Canton, Ohio. Five days later his daughter, Jett Williams, was born. Two weeks later, the last single that he released in his lifetime reached #1 on Billboard's country singles chart. Ironically, the song's title was "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive".

Hank Williams Gold (2005) is a 2-disc set that includes 42 digitally remastered songs that pretty well define the legacy that Hank left behind over fifty years ago. You know these songs, too. Your Cheatin' Heart, Jambalaya (On The Bayou), Lovesick Blues, Honky Tonkin', You Win Again, I Saw The Light, Why Don't You Love Me, Honky Tonk Blues, Cold Cold Heart, Kaw-Liga, A Mansion On The Hill, Move It On Over, Mind Your Own Business, Hey Good Lookin', Howlin' At The Moon, Lost Highway, The Angel Of Death, Half As Much, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, and many more. This collection also includes a few well-selected live cuts and a number of clean solo demos.

The sound quality is very good on all of the songs here, much better than the other Hank Williams compilations that I've owned. A 28-page booklet that features an essay on Hank, some great photos and song information (including recording dates) is also provided.

I must say here that all of Universal's Gold Series CDs are very high-quality; regardless of the cheap-looking and generic cover layout. They are digitally remastered 2-CD sets with thoughtful song selections and liner notes.

Hank Williams is a country music legend, but to be honest, his songs actually have more in common with the music of Robert Johnson and Woody Guthrie than that of Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw. He wrote about his life, and lived it. There's not a phony word or note to be found anywhere here. Real life, love, loneliness and heartache.

Let me travel this land from the mountains to the sea

Because that's the life I believe He meant for me

And when I'm gone and at my grave you stand

Just say God called home your Ramblin' Man

"

Existing Hank Fans Please Read

E. Mark Pate | Stanley, NC | 05/29/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're already a Hank Sr fan and already own most of the songs listed on this CD, don't listen to the other reviews that claim there's no need to buy this. The quality of the remaster alone makes it worth the purchase, but there are different (live) versions of the same songs I already have on other CD's on here. I won't completely pick it apart, but for instance LOST HIGHWAY is completely different than the version on "40 Greatest Hits", its a live version that apparently was from THE HEALTH AND HAPPINESS SHOWS. By the way, when you buy it, keep your old ones too. Sometimes it's nice to hear the snap crakle and pop of the analog versions, reminds me of listening to the old 78's 40yrs ago........"

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