Flashes of Fire: Hoyt's Very Best 1962-1990 (Reis)

Hoyt Axton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 26, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Raven [Australia]
• ASIN: B0001XAP4W
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,517 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #67 in Music > Indie Music > Country > Country Folk

Track Listings

1. Greenback Dollar

2. Smoky

3. It's All Right Now

4. Snowblind Friend

5. Pusher

6. Never Been To Spain

7. Joy To The World

8. Officer Ray

9. Heaven

10. Sweet Misery

11. Less Than The Song

12. When The Morning Comes

13. Boney Fingers

14. No No Song

15. Lion In The Winter

16. In A Young Girl’S Mind

17. Evangelina

18. Flash Of Fire

19. Light This Candle

20. Free Sailin’

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Retrospective, July 16, 2004

By 

James E. Bagley "Jim Bagley" (Sanatoga, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flashes of Fire: Hoyt's Very Best 1962-1990 (Reis) (Audio CD)

Flashes Of Fire's 25 diverse, brightly remastered tracks reach from a live '62 "Greenback Dollar" (later covered by the Kingston Trio) to 1990's whimsical "Fearless The Wonder Dog." For all the rock hits he penned (Three Dog Night's "Joy To The World" and "Never Been To Spain," Ringo Starr's "No No Song"), Hoyt Axton's albums and singles surprisingly never cracked Pop's top 40 - only Country's - though his literate, left-of-center writing was as far from mainstream country as it could get. A wide range of artists such as Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby and David Crosby were among those who covered him.

In the drug-hazy `60s and `70s, Axton's anti-drug songs never seemed square. Cheech & Chong make a cameo appearance on "No No Song." Steppenwolf's seering "The Pusher" cover powered Easy Rider's soundtrack. "Snow Blind Friend" (which Steppenwolf also did) viewed substance abuse with pity. As for Axton's country top-tenners, "Boney Fingers" showed his droll side, while "When The Morning Comes" (a duet with Linda Ronstadt) was, as its name implies, a beguiling morning-after song. A big bear of a man, Axton died at only 61 in 1999 after a career spanning writing, singing and Hollywood acting. His mom was Mae Axton who co-wrote Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel."

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Any Hoyt is good Hoyt, April 21, 2007

By 

bob turnley (birmingham,al,usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flashes of Fire: Hoyt's Very Best 1962-1990 (Reis) (Audio CD)

Axton is as important to Americana as Dylan and Springsteen and deserves all the respect and attention given him and more. Seeing any CD release of his music is a pleasant suprise but many of his best are missing from this release. If you want Hoyt's best, you've got to have - 500 Miles, Hotel Ritz, Pride of Man, So Hard To Give It All Up, The Devil, Mountain Right, Cowboys On Horses With Wings, Wild Bull Rider, and the most beautiful song he ever sang: I Collect Hearts. Other glaring ommissions include- I Love To Sing, The Way Of The World, Southbound, I Left My Gal In The Mountains and California Women.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best compilation of overlooked star, January 9, 2007

By 

Brian A. Hellmann "music man" (Cincinnati's West-Side) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Flashes of Fire: Hoyt's Very Best 1962-1990 (Reis) (Audio CD)

Hoyt Axton grew up in the business of making music. With obvious regard to his mother and her song writing efforts, Hoyt carried the family music torch for several decades. It's a mystery why he never quite got his just due with Billboard charts and radio air-play. No matter, if you're interested in country, folk, story songs, or just fine music, Hoyt Axton's Flashes of Fire will not disappoint!