20 Greatest Songs

Don Gibson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 13, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B00005A8MH
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,379 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sweet Dreams

2. Oh, Lonesome Me

3. I Can't Stop Loving You

4. Give Myself a Party

5. Blue Blue Day

6. Look Who's Blue

7. Who Cares (For Me)

8. Just One Time

9. Sea of Heartbreak

10. Lonesome Number One

11. Funny, Familiar, Forgotten Feelings

12. Rings of Gold

13. Country Green

14. Far, Far Away

15. Woman (Sensuous Woman)

16. Is This the Best I'm Gonna Feel

17. Touch The Morning

18. Snap Your Fingers

19. One Day at a Time

20. Bring Back Your Love to Me

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 20 Greatest Songs, perhaps. But not his 20 best performances, March 23, 2001

By 

hypnovision (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 20 Greatest Songs (Audio CD)

Don Gibson was one of country's best (and most underrated) performers. This compilation does no justice to his legend. Many of the tracks are 70's Hickory re-recordings of his classic 50's & 60's material like "Oh, Lonesome Me" and "Sweet Dreams". The "Sea of Heartbreak" here is a travesty.

Anyone truly interested in this great singer and songwriter should pay a little extra for the "Legend in My Time" disc and hear these classics the way they were meant to be enjoyed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Surprising collection of Gibson’s latter-day hits and more, June 6, 2001

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 20 Greatest Songs (Audio CD)

Varese continues to mine the Hickory Records catalog, this time out providing a disc of singer-songwriter Don Gibson's latter-day efforts. Included are re-recordings of many hits from his earlier stint at RCA, as well as some surprising new successes.

Like most re-recordings, those included here don't match the intensity and raw originality of the versions that first etched Gibson's signature. Yet, a complete picture of his career, and especially his revival at Hickory, must include the detail of these mellowed, more considered renditions. Clearly they're no substitute for the original sides (many of which can be found on RCA's "Collector's Series," among other collections), but neither are they throw-aways. Some of the early 70s guitar work on these tracks is over-the-top, but Gibson's vocals are spirited, as if sparked by a thankfulness for this second chance.

Beyond the reworked classics, the Hickory tracks document Gibson's [come back] to a second wind of artistic and popular success. His access to Acuff-Rose's stable of writers allowed him to partially refashion himself as a singer of other's songs. He hit with titles from Eddy Raven ("Country Green" "Touch Me in the Morning") and session guitarist Grady Martin ("Snap Your Fingers"). He also topped the charts with the non-Acuff-Rose tune "Woman (Sensuous Woman)" by Gary Paxton.

Gibson's own songwriting spotted him a few hits during this period, as well. His re-recorded version of "Far, Far Away" peaked at #12 (only one notch lower than the original version in 1960), and a pair of new songs, "Is This the Best I'm Gonna Feel" and "Bring Back Your Love to Me" also made the top-20. The latter is a particularly compelling production, led by (assumedly) Grady Martin's stupendous Mexicali-influenced acoustic guitar playing.

This is a thoroughly welcome release, documenting a vital and artistically satisying second chapter in the career of a major star.

3-1/2 stars, if Amazon allowed fractional ratings.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, November 19, 2003

By 

"mahes" (Mississauga, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 20 Greatest Songs (Audio CD)

We sadly lost this great singer and song writer two days ago at the age of 75. This CD of re recordings isn't too bad, but his original versions of Oh Lonesome Me, Blue Blue Day, Sea Of Heartbreak and others are a lot better. I especially like his remake of I Can't Stop Loving You which is on this CD, but his original version from 1958 is beautiful. Highly recommended.