20 Greatest Songs

Roy Acuff | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 13, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B00005A8MC
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,422 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. (Our Own) Jole Blon

2. Write Me Sweetheart

3. Waltz Of The Wind

4. I Saw The Light

5. Will The Circle Be Unbroken

6. As Long As I Live

7. Branded Whereever I Go

8. The Great Speckled Bird

9. The Walbash Cannonball

10. The Precious Jewel

11. The Wreck On The Highway

12. Fireball Mail

13. Wait For The Light To Shine

14. Unloved And Unclaimed

15. This World Can't Stand Long

16. Once More

17. So Many Times

18. Come And Knock (On My Door Of My Heart)

19. Freight Train Blues

20. Back In The Country

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Expanded collection of Acuff's latter-day Hickory recordings, June 3, 2001

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

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

As a founder of Acuff-Rose, the first (and still dominant) Country music publishing house, Roy Acuff knew the value of a song, both figuratively and literally. So it's no surprise that in a fifty-year recording career he'd take the opportunity to revisit some of the chestnuts he'd collected. On this collection, Varese's put together twenty tracks Acuff cut for his own Hickory label from the late-50s, through the mid-70s, including valuable re-recordings of his legendary late-30s and early-40s sides, new hits, and several essential B-sides.

In spotlighting these latter-day Hickory recordings, "20 Greatest Songs" (note that it's not titled "20 Greatest Hits") serves as a well-rounded introduction to Acuff's career. By collecting tracks from his post-40s surges of popularity, the disc illuminates Acuff's essential characteristics: a finely tuned ear for great songs, and an unswerving devotion to the Country style he helped popularize in the 30s and 40s.

Chronologically, the disc picks up with Acuff's second flush of chart success in 1958. Having left Columbia, and subsequently Capitol, Decca and MGM, he finally settled at his own Hickory label. There he waxed the double-sided hit single "Once More" b/w "So Many Time," (both included here), and began recording albums and singles that simultaneously forged ahead and reconsidered his earlier successes.

Though the liner notes describe the re-recordings of his earliest hits as materially similar to the originals, they're often a hint slower, and a bit more refined in their production. And while the originals are essential, these re-recordings of chestnuts like "The Great Speckled Bird," "Wabash Cannonball" and "The Precious Jewel" serve as historical exclamation points in their own right. When Acuff first delivered these songs, he helped to establish Country music as a commercial concern. When he redelivered them, it not only validated his earlier work, but illuminated the roots of a music whose then-contemporary forms had greatly evolved.

The other Hickory recordings included here are equally impressive, from the 1965 hit revival of "Freight Train Blues" to the 1974 chart success with the Eddy Raven penned "Back in the Country." The magnificent flip side of the latter, "(Our Own) Jole Blon," opens the disc with a terrific Cajun beat. The twenty-track selection is a step up from previously available Hickory collections, such as Curb's "Best of Roy Acuff," and an excellent companion to 30s/40s compilations, such as Columbia's "Greatest Hits" or Columbia Legacy's "The Essential Roy Acuff (1936-1949)."

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Sounds from Hickory Records late 50's to late 70's, March 16, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

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

This is a great feast for the Acuff fan. This fine set includes a broad range of his later material. It includes the 1950's hit "Once More" and concludes with his 1974 chart entry "Back in the Country"(first time on cd). The cd has a real surprize bonus for the ardent fan. The song titled "As Long as I live" is listed as the 1963 release. It is however a previously unreleased cut from 10-27-78. Along with this there are many songs which have never appeared on CD format before. THIS IS A MUST HAVE FOR COUNTRY FAN. TO WHOM EVER MADE THIS CD POSSIBLE, THANKS!! PLEASE GIVE US MORE

5.0 out of 5 stars It was A GIFT MY FRIEND WAS VERY HAPPY, February 5, 2009

By 

Onieta K. Bauer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

it was a gift service was very fast the friend it was for plays it a lot every day thank you