Customer Reviews

Johnny Horton - Greatest Hits

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From the time he captured America's heart with a rip-roaring rendition of "The Battle Of New Orleans" until his final release with "North To Alaska", Johnny Horton surprised, delighted and amazed us with his crossover country style, sung with a muted twang. Anyone who listened to his album fell in love with that voice, which was quite distinctive and quite a vehicle for everything he sang. From his plaintive "All For The Love Of A Girl" to a haunting rendition of "Whispering Pines", it was clear he was basically a very talented country singer, whether he was singing something very commercial like "Johnny Reb", "Comanche", or "Sink The Bismark" or something closer to his heart, like "The Mansion You Stole". He had a sense of humor, which he exhibited with songs like "When It's Springtime In Alaska, It's Forty Below". yet it was his range of subjects and versatility in terms of style that we found so attractive and so irresistable. Had he not left us so suddenly, taken from his fans so young, who knows what other treasures he might have left behind. Enjoy!

1 Whispering Pines 2 Mansion You Stole, The 3 I'm Ready, If You're Willing 4 When It's Springtime In Alaska (It's Forty Below) 5 All For The Love Of A Girl 6 Comanche (The Brave Horse) 7 Jim Bridger 8 Johnny Freedom

Johnny Horton died young, the victim of an automobile accident. His death brought to an abrupt end the beginning of what could have been one of the greatest music careers that ever was. This album reflects some of the marks he made on the world of Country Music.

Unfortunately, when this was originally released, there were twelve cuts, now there are only eight. I guess the others weren't great, for instance, they left out, "The Battle of New Orleans", one of the most outstanding hits in the history of the music, "North To Alaska", and "When It's Springtime in Alaska", two of the most definitive changes in his style as he began to leave the historical area and venture into the world of love and feeling; "Sink The Bismark" and "Johnny Reb", two of the songs most representative of his historical era. Why is it that Columbia Records feels that they have to cut the amounts of songs down through the years just because the business, as it stands today, usually releases only eight cuts. It doesn't cost them any more; all their costs were recovered in the first twenty or so releases of this album; it's just plain greed.

With my "bitching" aside, I can still say that any Country and Western or late 50's rock enthusiast would love the album.

The songs that were kept true to country style, in the memory of Hank, are "Whispering Pines", and "The Mansion You Stole", and "All For The Love of a Girl"; each of these reflects the true country nature of it's artist.

The "Historical Hitmakers" are here, as well, thus, fulfilling the dream of the complete Johnny Horton Sound.

There are many sides to Johnny Horton. In his short career,Johnny could sing anything. He was great with the patriotic songs,he was great in the rock and roll area,and the third side was the romantic Horton where he was great,too.Just listen to the songs Battle of New Orleans,Im a Honky Tonk Man and The Mansion You Stole,and you will agree that this entertainer could do it all. His life was so short that the Country Music Hall of Fame has overlooked him, but he should be there for just being so versatile for sure.What other entertainer could offer any more of himself than Johnny Horton?What a pity he is not in there with those other greats. 5 stars

This album is worth the bucks. All his greatest hits are here and sound as fresh as they did when they were recorded. "Battle of New Orleans' amd 'Whispering Pines' are two of my favourites.

The songs on this CD bring back many memories of days marching around our dining room table as an eight year old. This was the first record I ever received and now the CD is still my favorite. The songs talk about history and Mr. Hortons voice is one of the best ever! The song Johnny Reb still gives me goose bumps and I still sing as loud as I can to Sink the Bismark and Battle of New Orleans. My younger brother and I are on opposite ends of music choices but we both agree that Johnny Hortons Greatest Hits is the best CD ever!

Horton died 9 years before I was born. I remember listening to my parent's copy of "Battle of New Orleans" and "Sink the Bismark" when I was a kid and loved it.

I picked up this CD a couple years ago so I could listen to my old childhood favorites. Besides the two songs above, I had never really heard Horton's other songs. But this entire CD is good! It's a breath of fresh air to hear someone sing about history and the frontier instead of the exclusive focus on sex and relationships of today's pop music/contemporary country.

From the earnest refrains of "Johnny Reb" to the wry humor of "Springtime in Alaska" and the swinging rythm of "Honky Tonk Man" this CD offers a lot of variety.

I don't give a lot of 5-star reviews and am mainly a fan of heavy metal but Horton is classic and timeless and 100% American.

The age of this collection rather shocked me, but it has certainly withstood the test of time. Johnny Horton was the ultimate balladeer, with a rich, mellow voice that clearly tells a story. His story was apparently over with all too soon, but the magic lives on. This collection of greatest hits is clearly timeless, and still manages to capture new audiences. The Battle of New Orleans has been performed by many artists, but Horton's rendition is still the classic. North to Alaska (They crossed the Yukon River and found the bonanza gold) and Springtime in Alaska (Where the cariboo crawl and the grizzly bear hug we did our dance on a Kodiac rug) will ALWAYS be a huge favorite to this reviewer. You had to be a little girl living in Alaska during statehood -- when Horton's songs would come on the jukebox and everyone would stand up and stomp and sing -- I still get a thrill remembering it. Every song in this collection tells a story well worth listening to, Comanche the Brave Horse (an ode to Custer's mount), the haunting sadness of Whispering Pines, Sink the Bismarck (we've got to sink the Bismarck, `cause the world depends on us). If you haven't heard all the songs in this collection, well you OWE it to yourself. Also a very fun way to introduce a little history to a youngster!

For the person who is completely unfamiliar with Johnny Horton (whoever that might be anyway), this is THE PLACE to get started out. While this does overlook his early hits (Mean, Mean Son of A Gun, One Woman Man, Sal's Got A Sugarlip), it does give what most fans remember Johnny for-"Battle of New Orleans", "North To Alaska", etc. Sound quality is stellar on this package. This is the perfect intro to the man & his music.

The age of this collection rather shocked me, but it has certainly withstood the test of time. Johnny Horton was the ultimate balladeer, with a rich, mellow voice that clearly tells a story. His story was apparently over with all too soon, but the magic lives on. This collection of greatest hits is clearly timeless, and still manages to capture new audiences. The Battle of New Orleans has been performed my many artists, but Horton's rendition is still the classic. North to Alaska (They crossed the Yukon River and found the bonanza gold) and Springtime in Alaska (Where the cariboo crawl and the grizzly bear hug we did our dance on a Kodiac rug) will ALWAYS be a huge favorite to this reviewer. You had to be a little girl living in Alaska during statehood -- when Horton's songs would come on the jukebox and everyone would stand up and stomp and sing -- I still get a thrill remembering it. Every song in this collection tells a story well worth listening to, Comanche the Brave Horse (an ode to Custer's mount), the haunting sadness of Whispering Pines, Sink the Bismarck (we've got to sink the Bismarck, `cause the world depends on us). If you haven't heard all the songs in this collection, well you OWE it to yourself. Also a very fun way to introduce a little history to a youngster!

When I was younger, my father had a cassette with all of these songs on them, but my mother sold it in a garage sale. Of course I was upset when I looked for it years later, and I was so excited to find this CD! I remembered all the songs and still listen to it frequently. I couldn't be more satisfied.