Customer Reviews

King of the Road

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Suddenly I am 5 again, the rest of my life swept away simply by hearing Roger Miller sing "Footprints in The Snow" in the cold light of the millenium. I just know that I am the little girl he is singing about, wandered away in a typical Michigan blizzard. Tears come to my eyes still, just as they did when I would hide in my mom's stereo cabinet and listen to each sad, sad word emphasized by the cracks and pops of a record which has been listened to so many more times than the vinyl can handle. That record hasn't seen the light of day for at least 20 years, supplanted by new music and new technology. And yet, some part of me knows that Roger Miller's songs are fundamental to the person I am and I search vigilently for the CD I need. Oh, its easy to find the well-known Roger Miller tracks like "Dang Me" or "Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd" but the time machine songs aren't found there. Years go by and lo & behold, my search of Amazon.com returns my childhood. Try to name something else that has that power?

This is an album for those who truly appreciate a subtle, whimsical genius. Although seemingly goofy at times, Roger Miller captures all of the delightful intricacies of life using his unsurpassed comical wit. After all, who else would think to rhyme the supposedly un-rhyme-able "purple" with "maple syruple"? This is by far one of my all time favorite CDs. If you love a blend of country, blue grass, rockabilly and jazz, this is the album for you! If you wish to learn to love a blend of the above, this is the album for you! I can never keep a smile from my face when listening to these songs, even when times are rough. And compared to other Miller albums, this one contains far more than the usual greatest hits. With 29 songs, it's well worth the money. Buy it, listen to it, and if you don't love it right away keep listening and it'll grow on you!

A very fine compilation of songs covering different phases and stages of Roger Miller's career, - R.C.A./Smash recordings. The Bear Family people (German import) really have their act together, always releasing the best and rare hi-fidelity recordings possible. These twenty nine songs are at times off the wall, outrageous, most of all highly intelligent, featuring the ever so brilliant songwriting of Roger Miller. The R.C.A. sides feature, "Get Up Early In The Morning", - every man should do, "Burma Shave", "Lock,Stock and Teardrops", "Trouble On The Turnpike", featuring early versions of, "Fair Swiss Maiden", "In The Summertime", and Miller does a fine cover of Bill Monroe's, "Footprints In The Snow". The legendary Smash recordings feature naturally "King Of The Road", & "Dang me", "Chug-A-Lug", "Kansas City Star" - my personal favorite, "Do-Wacka-Do", "England Swings", "Engine,Engine #9",... All the wild, wild, best is here from "the genius", except it doesn't have my favorite Miller song, "WANDA IGUANA", now's the time for Roger Miller's complete Smash box set.

My husband says this is the best cd I ever bought him. Yay! So now I hope to find another one to buy.

while the mercury box from 1995 is more thorough, this is definitely the most lovingly done roger miller collection. sounds as good as it ever will and the most informative liner notes on miller ever written. done two years before his life was cut too short. roger miller is my favorite songwriter.

A must have for music lovers.
I have everything from Miles Davis to Mongolian Throat singing to Vivaldi to Lead Zeplin. This is good music too.

This album reminded me life was simple. School was School and

work was work. life wasn't totally dominated by these 2 elements

of life. We laughed at ourselves at this time.

Buy the album for a reality check.

This is the only place (outside of the pricey box set) where one can get both the songs on the Smash label as well as the overlooked RCA recordings. Well worth the money!

This CD was not what I was expecting......it did have a few songs I was looking for but it had a bunch of other songs I had never heard before. Overall it was a good cd and a great price for it.