Customer Reviews

Jolly Green Giant

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

 

 

In the late sixties, Jack Greene was a very important country singer, but now he is almost forgotten, which is rather sad, because he was brilliant.

By far the best known song is There goes my everything - it was his biggest hit (country #1 for seven weeks) and was covered by (among others) Engelbert Humperdinck and Elvis, who both recorded pop versions of the song. Statue of a fool was revived by Ricky van Shelton in the late eighties. There are three duets with Jeannie Seely (who's big solo hit was Don't touch me - her music is even harder to find than Jack's) and many other excellent songs.

In answer to a previous reviewer asking about the album title, he only had to read the liner notes to see that Jack's band were called the Jolly green giants. While I agree with the same reviewer that Until my dreams come true should have been included, that track can be found on Best of the best - if you want it badly enough. It's absence does not detract from a still excellent collection. I'd like to see more of Jack's (and Jeannie's) music on CD, but I don't expect to get the chance any time soon.

These are all original recordings of some of the best country music ever made. Jack Greene is an absolutely fantastic singer. He has a voice like none other and this collection shows it off brilliantly.

As noted by others, there are a couple other cuts that probably deserve to be here, but this is by far the best Jack Greene collection you're going to find on a single CD.

I received this CD today and have been playing it over and over. This is good old traditional country music. Great beat, tugging at your heart and soul type honky tonk music. Where or where are these type of songs in todays "Country".

Fantasic music. I docked it a star because for some reason they include all his hits except for "Until My Dreams Come True," which the notes say is included. And also for not including 2 of his best songs, "The Last Letter" and "Lord is that Me?"

These are the original recordings of his greatest hits. The notes are a little lacking, and there is no recording info. This could have been so much better. But of all the available stuff on him, this is by far the best, and probably the only collection that will be released on him in the near future.

In 1967, Jack Greene won four CMA awards(Best Male Vocalist, Best Album, Best Single and Song Of The Year for "There Goes My Everything")and went on to become a well known and popular Grand Ole Opry member. He charted nine Top Ten singles between 1966 and 1970 and recorded duets with Jeannie Seely. His warm, emotional vocal style and keen choice of appropriate material were a perfect combination on a prolific number of recordings for the Decca/MCA label. Unfortunately, this British Edsel CD compilation is the only available collection of those original recordings.
Arranged chronologically, the twenty tracks include his first hit, "Ever Since My Baby Went Away", as the set opener. It is followed by his #1's: "There Goes My Everything", "All The Time", and "You Are My Treasure". Other biggies include "What Locks The Door"(#2), "Wish I Didn't Have To Miss You(#2 w/Jeannie Seely), and "Back In The Arms Of Love"(#4).
The lesser chart hits are no less enjoyable and standouts include: "There's a Whole Lot About A Woman(That A Man Don't Know)", "Makin' Up His Mind", "I Need Somebody Bad", and "He Little Thing'd Her Out Of My Arms". (Noticably missing are three other hits: "Until My Dreams Come True"(#1), "The Last Letter", and "Lord Is That Me".)
The highlight of this anthology is the powerful "Statue Of A Fool"(#1). That classic, along with "There Goes My Everything", gives Jack Greene a timeless pair of signature songs.
The liner notes and pictures in the CD booklet are informative and well done.

COUNTRY MUSIC FEELS DEAD when you listen to this CD. This is what it oughta still be. Good combination and at least HALF the CD is of great merit. Of course, Statue of a Fool is one of the BEST ever!

It figures. A mere handful of CDs for one of Country's most consistent hit-makers from 1966 to 1984 [36 charted singles], including re-make junk from TeeVee Records, and the best of the lot not only comes from the U.K., but it's now out of stock.

Hopefully that will be corrected soon because this really is a diamond amongst coal, providing 20 of some of the best among those 36 hits generated by the former drummer with Ernest Tubb's band from 1962 to 1964. In fact it was Tubb himself who persuaded "my big-eared singing drummer" to leave the Texas Troubadors and go solo.

Ever Since My Baby Went Away, his first hit, is here, a song written by Marty Robbins that gave him a modest debut, only reaching # 37 in January 1966. A couple of other releases that year went nowhere, but in the fall the Dallas Frazier-penned There Goes My Everything shot to # 1 and remained there for seven weeks. Jack Greene had arrived.

Four of his next seven hits also reached # 1 and, with one exception, they are all here. The missing # 1 is Until My Dream Comes True which reached that pinnacle in early 1969 and stayed there for two weeks - perhaps, in retrospect, a better choice for inclusion than 1975s He Little Thing'd Her Out Of My Arms [# 88]. Another Top 20 omitted is 1970's Lord Is That Me [# 16], while Hanging Over Me [# 26 in 1971], If You Ever Need My Love [# 31 in 1972], and The Fool I've Been Today [# 40 in 1973] round out the Decca/MCA missing Top 40s [he had another in 1980 with Yours For The Taking [# 28], but that was his first for the Frontline label after leaving MCA.

In any event, these are but minor quibbles. This set is fine just as it is, especially as it includes all three hit duets with Jeannie Seeley [tracks 9, 15, and 16]. Nicknamed "The Jolly Green Giant" for his preference for green-coloured suits, Jack became a member of the Grand Ol' Opry in 1967, the same year he was awarded the CMA Award as male vocalist of the year. And he's still not in the Country Music Hall of Fame.