Customer Reviews

20 Greatest Songs

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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.

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.

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.

Remember this singer/songwriter from those days, when country was country - not pop songs, but Don gave us a little of both. Don Gibson was one of those rare entertainers who gave it his all, but found it harder to handle than most. Listen to the tunes that gave him his comeback - a cross over, whose favorite musician was Django Reinhardt, credits Django with most of his rhythmic concepts.

Each track has his distinctive signature, always a message within each lyric - many artist have recorded and made them bigger hits, but this album has the inside track on Gibson's comeback.

Want to thank Cary E. Mansfield (producer), Dan Hersch (remastered engineer), Varese Sarabande...and of course Don Gibson, who with Chet Atkins coined the term "Nashville Sound" and country music changed forever. Within these 20 tracks, is the love and talent of this sorely missed recording artist - DON GIBSON!

Total Time: 52:21 on 20 Tracks...Varese Sarabande 302 066 205 2...(2001)

I think this is one of the best recordings of these songs, and a good selection. It's a pity that the title of "Touch The Morning" on the jacket reads "Touch Me In The Morning", but that doesn't affect the music. It's a very worthwhile addition to any collection.