Honky Tonk Hero (Coll) [Collector's Edition, Original recording remastered]

Webb Pierce | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Collector's Edition, Original recording remastered
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B00008WI8L
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #584,951 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Back Street Affair

2. Cryin' over You

3. I Ain't Never

4. I'm Tired

5. In the Jailhouse Now

6. It's Been So Long

7. I Don't Care

8. Slowly

9. There Stands the Glass

10. Tupelo County Jail

11. Cow Town

12. Yes, I Know Why (I Want to Cry)

13. The Good Lord Giveth (& Uncle Sam Taketh Away)

14. I've Got Leaving on My Mind

15. Wondering

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Webb in the 1970s: still going strong!, August 26, 2003

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Honky Tonk Hero (Coll) (Audio CD)

In 1973, after two decades as one of Decca Record's top country hitmakers, honkytonk pioneer Webb Pierce was unceremoniously dumped by the label (which had reorganized as MCA, and had also dropped other old-timers such as Ernest Tubb, who were deemed too old-fashioned to make it in the countrypolitan era.) Webb then signed up with the independent Plantation label, owned by producer Shelby Singleton. This CD collects over a dozen tracks chery-picked from Webb's two "Golden Hits" LPs, from 1976 and '77, albums that were filled with peppy stereo remakes of honkytonk hits Pierce originally recorded in the '50s and early '60s. Many country fans reflexively dismiss these re-recordings as inferior to the originals, but they definitely have their charms, and show that Webb still had remarkable vitality, and an ability to work with modern studio backings. Certainly, for Webb fans, it's a treat to have some of these songs out on CD at last, even if it's a little deceptive of the folks at Fuel to note the Top Ten chart positions of the **original** recordings next to the track listings (of the re-recordings) on the back: despite a strong promotional push by Plantation, Pierce's '70s recordings never approached anything close to the hitmaking heights of his glory days. Still, it's nice stuff! Speaking of hits, an added bonus on this disc is the inclusion of Webb's last significant chart entry, "The Good Lord Giveth (And Uncle Sam Taketh Away)," a vibrant, fuzzed-out, poppy shuffle that, inexplicably, the folks at Plantation never included on proper album. All in all, this disc is a nice find... it not be Pierce in his true prime, but Webb's still kickin' some hillbilly butt!

3.0 out of 5 stars Mostly remakes, November 4, 2005

By 

Paul W. Dennis (Winter Springs, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Honky Tonk Hero (Coll) (Audio CD)

I'd rate this at 3.5 notes - I'm bought this CD for the one song that has never before been available on CD - "The Good Lord Giveth and Uncle Sam Taketh Away." Otherwise, this CD duplicates Plantation remakes of classic Decca material that is available on other CDs. Pierce was still an interesting singer at the time these sides were made, but he had lost some of his upper range and his phrasing had changed from his mid-50s Halcyon days.