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Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs
: :A lonely Westerner in Nashville, Marty Robbins salved his soul by cutting an album (in one afternoon) of mostly self-composed cowboy ballads. One of them was a four-and-a-half-minute epic, 'El Paso,' that broke every rule of Top 40 programming to become a No. 1 pop and country hit in 1960. Robbins was arguably the most surefooted and accomplished singer in all country music, and that was never more obvious than on these Western ballads performed to often breathtaking perfection with a very small group and ...
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The Legend
: :There are several Cash boxes available, but The Legend--spanning the years 1955-2002 but concentrating on his long tenure at Columbia and, to a lesser degree, his beginnings at Sun--probably belongs at the top of the list. Cash's greatest strengths are dramatized on these four, thematically programmed discs: Win, Place and Show: The Hits; Old Favorites and New; The Great American Songbook (mostly traditional songs); and Family and Friends (collaborations). For starters, consider the staggering depth and breadth of his repertoire (perhaps matched only by those ...
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42 Ultimate Hits
: :There are several Cash boxes available, but The Legend--spanning the years 1955-2002 but concentrating on his long tenure at Columbia and, to a lesser degree, his beginnings at Sun--probably belongs at the top of the list. Cash's greatest strengths are dramatized on these four, thematically programmed discs: Win, Place and Show: The Hits; Old Favorites and New; The Great American Songbook (mostly traditional songs); and Family and Friends (collaborations). For starters, consider the staggering depth and breadth of his repertoire (perhaps matched only by those ...
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Urban Cowboy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
from: Denon Records
: :The aim was to do for country what Saturday Night Fever did for disco. The result was that bars from Kona to Kalamazoo suddenly had mechanical bulls, and slickers walking around in cowboy hats. You might also pinpoint this as the moment in time when 'country' music suddenly went cosmopolitan, paving the way for Garth Brooks. Johnny Lee's 'Lookin' for Love' was one of the decade's biggest singles, and this album briefly made a star of Mickey Gilley (whose Texas club provided a home for ...
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Cool Water (& 17 Timeless Favorites)
:Album Details:From the Living Stereo Series, the Long Time Classic Completely Remastered.
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C.W. McCall - Greatest Hits
: :The linkage between consumerism and popular music finds a strange analogue in William Fries, a.k.a. C.W. McCall. Trained in graphic design and advertising, Fries invented his trucker persona while working on a bakery ad campaign and helped drive the trucker craze of the '70s with a slew of novelty tunes, few of which have aged very well. McCall described his delivery as a 'walkin', talkin' singin' style,' though emphasis always falls on his deadpan spoken wit. McCall never took himself seriously, and tunes like 'Crispy ...
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The Definitive Collection
: :The linkage between consumerism and popular music finds a strange analogue in William Fries, a.k.a. C.W. McCall. Trained in graphic design and advertising, Fries invented his trucker persona while working on a bakery ad campaign and helped drive the trucker craze of the '70s with a slew of novelty tunes, few of which have aged very well. McCall described his delivery as a 'walkin', talkin' singin' style,' though emphasis always falls on his deadpan spoken wit. McCall never took himself seriously, and tunes like 'Crispy ...
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Anthology Of American Folk Music (Edited By Harry Smith)
:Album Description:This deluxe 6-CD collector's boxed set contains a 96-page book featuring Harry Smith's original songbook framed by essays by Greil Marcus and other noted writers, musicians, and scholars. Play the enhanced sixth disc on your CD-ROM drive and access historic video footage, rare photos, artist interviews, and additional background information. Edited by Harry Smith. Reissue compiled by the staff of Smithsonian Folkways. Reissue liner notes by Greil Marcus, Neil Rosenberg, Jeff Place, Jon Pankake, Luis Kemnitzer and others. '...the missing link in rock's official ...
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Marty Robbins - All-Time Greatest Hits
: :Marty Robbins has more greatest-hits compilations than most artists have hits. This 20-cut single-disc collection is one of the better values, with a representative selection that extends from gunfighter balladry such as 'El Paso' (his 1959 chart-topper and biggest crossover success) and 'Big Iron' to the calypso-tinged 'Devil Woman' to his cover of Gordon Lightfoot's folkish 'Ribbon of Darkness.' Throughout his 30-year recording career, Robbins combined a tremulous tenor with canny commercial instincts, stretching the boundaries of country music while expanding his popular base. He ...
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21 Number Ones
: :The gravel-and-grits voice of Kenny Rogers ultimately came to define the 'Urban Cowboy' era of pop excess, even as the earlier 'Lucille' and 'The Gambler' were some of the most galvanizing story songs in country music's history. Looking back at this body of hits, it's easy to poke fun at the treacley 'You Decorated My Life' or wince at the cheesy string arrangements on 'Through the Years.' It's also natural to wish Rogers had never heard of Sheena Easton, his misguided duet partner on 'We've ...
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