Essential

Earl Thomas Conley, Larry Coryell | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 16, 1996)
• Original Release Date: April 9, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002WW6
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,739 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #9 in Music > Country > Cowboy
  • #24 in Music > Country > Neotraditional

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality music that defies category, April 18, 2003

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential (Audio CD)

It is difficult to categorise Earl's musical style. Some of his songs sound more traditional than others, but they are all of a remarkably high quality. Earl sings mostly love ballads, sometimes sad and sometimes philosophical. He never seems to get really excited, so you won't find any up-tempo rockers here. He wrote most of his own songs and I wonder if he found true happiness in love because his songs seem to suggest not.

Earl smoked heavily, which gave his voice a distinctive quality but ultimately took its toll and he had to quit the music business for a while. Before doing so, had about thirty hits on the country chart, of which twenty are to be found here. Seventeen of these tracks were number one hits, the exceptions being Heavenly bodies, I have loved you girl but not like this before and the duet with Keith Whitley, Brotherly love. The only missing number one hit is We believe in happy endings, a duet with Emmylou Harris.

This is a wonderful collection of Earl's music. I hope to see another compilation featuring the hits that didn't make it here, but with all those number one hits on it, this will remain just what the title says - the essential Earl Thomas Conley.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Earl Thomas Conley = exceptional artist!!, May 26, 2003

By 

Batmanbrb "batmansbrb" (Seymour, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential (Audio CD)

When I think back to the eighties in country music, the only male vocalist that comes to mind as being the best 'artist' is Earl Thomas Conley. I was new to country music when I bought my first ETC tape back in the 80's and I've been a huge fan of his ever since. This guy is so unique; whether describing his vocals or describing his first-rate song writing. He should be given some kind of honorary award for his most important and significant contributions to country music. While I was disappointed that this collection didn't include "Too Many Times", a duet with Anita Poynter, it is a fantastic selection of material from one of the best artists that country music has ever seen.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The man, no question., June 30, 2003

By 

"newhavengolfer" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential (Audio CD)

Earl Thomas Conley has to rank in my top 3 favorite C/W artists of all time. This cd is hardly ever taken out of the player in my vehicle. Every song on this CD is a hit that you can listen to over and over. I have had the pleasure of playing golf with Earl a couple of times over the past two years and this man is as common as the cold. You would never know he was a superstar. I have a feeling that the info in the last review may be a little off, the part about Earl never returning to the country music spotlight. Stick around, trust me, Earl has not lost his singing voice and he will be back, soon. Earl is the man.