The Early Years

Johnny Horton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 11, 1998)
• Original Release Date: July 16, 1998
• Label: Bear Family
• ASIN: B000009NX5
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,012,487 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Smokey Joe's Barbecue

2. Devilish Love Light

3. Shotgun Boogie

4. In My Home in Shelby County

5. Coal Smoke, Valve Oil and Steam

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. First Train Headin' South

2. The Rest of Your Life

3. (I Wished for an Angel) The Devil Sent Me You

4. This Won't Be the First Time

5. Child's Side of Life

See all 30 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Won't You Love Me, Love, Love Me

2. Why Did It Happen to Me

3. You, You, You (Caused This Heartache)

4. Broken Hearted Gypsy

5. All for the Love of a Girl

See all 31 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Plaid and Calico

2. Coal Smoke, Valve Oil and Steam

3. Devilish Love Light

4. Done Rovin'

5. Mean, Mean Son of a Gun

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great but for johnny horton fans, January 13, 2006

By 

Steven D. Hammond - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Early Years (Audio CD)

what some of these reviewers don't understand is that this is a box set, it's for hardcore fans. as a huge johnny horton fan i can do nothing but tell you if don't like alternate versions or different takes or only like the hits, don't buy this. but johnny horton is one of my favorite musicians of all time, he transcends all those historical saga songs so many times over it's ridiculous to even say so. the songs and the soul present on this set are before johnny ever made it big (though he did redo several songs)and are for the true fan, the ones who take music seriously and recognise johnny horton for what he was: one of the best musicians of all time.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Johnny Horton-The Early Years, October 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Early Years (Audio CD)

One really has to think hard before spending this much on a 4 CD set that seems to contain the same songs in a number of places. Growing up,one of my favorite LPs was All For The Love Of A Girl.In Later years, I found out that most of the songs on that album were not available on CD, cassette or the net. Their appearance on this set elated and enticed me.They,re here, First Train Head'in South, Broken Hearted Gypsy, Big Wheels Rollin, Train With A Rhumba Beat, Child's Side Of Life, ect. All as good as I remember from 20 years ago. CD 1.Piano/swing music.A side of Horton I'd never heard before, but not bad. CD2 My favorites from my Dad's LP. CD3 Most of it demos.Alot of hiss & poor production. Not great to listen to, until you realize that alot of the words and coruses are different, the originals and an interesting oddity. CD4 Why so many repeats? Earlier songs that wer reworked in 1959 and then again in 1964. Both versions included.These songs are incredibly cleaned up, with strong vocals and an entirely different pace and instrumentation compared to the earlier examples. Two versions with different backup instruments in each and not a one I'd heard before. All sounding like the Johnny I grew up with. Fantastic. All in all, I have absolutely no regrets for making this purchase.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thacker's cut was the best, July 18, 2001

By 

joe johnson (BATESVILLE, IN (USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Early Years (Audio CD)

ALL IN ALL I THINK THAT THIS BOX SET WAS PUT TOGETHER VERY WELL. MY FAVORITE CUT WAS BALLAD OF JOHNNY HORTON BY: RUDY THACKER. TO ME THE MAN SEEMS TO BE A EXCELLENT SONG WRITTER, AND IF HE IS STILL AROUND, HE SHOULD CONSIDER WRITING MORE MATERIAL, WHAT A GIFTED MUSICIAN!!!