Customer Reviews

A Legend in My Time

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Don Gibson was a very popular performer in the late 50's and 60's. Curiously he has not been canonized by an industry always willing to enshrine even it's lesser stars.

There is no doubt that Don Gibson is a genuine legend. His voice alone should be enough to solidify his legacy. On top of that add his abilities as a songwriter. He wrote a slew of classics including "Sweet Dreams", "Oh, Lonesome Me", "Sea of Heartbreak" & "Legend In My Time. If that's not enough to convice you, just listen to his energetically strummed Django Reinhardt-inspired rythym guitar.

I've played "Sea of Heartbreak" for lots of people who said they didn't like country and they all immediately fell in love with it. While there is a little filler on here (and what country artist doesn't have some) there is plenty to fall in love with, including rarites like "Sweet, Sweet Girl" and "If You Don't Know the Sorrow".

For anyone with more than a passing interest in this artist or in good country music, this Bear Family collection is the only one to consider. It's the only one I have found that includes the ORIGINAL recordings of all of his classics. Avoid those lower-priced and far inferior Curb & Hickory sets of late-career re-recordings. Don Gibson deserves better and so do you.

This CD offers original recordings of most of Gibson's late 50-ealrly 60 hits. Mostly unavailable, if you are a Gibson fan this makes it worth buying. The CD chronicals Gibson's attempts to immitate his 'Blue Day' and 'Lonesome Me' sound through many songs. Sadly, much of this comes across as shallow albumn filler. DO NOT BUY THE HICKORY - CURB OFFERINGS UNDER GIBSON'S NAME. These are re-recordings, always inferior, of his early hits.

And, they're original recordings. Here is an affordable, yet absolutely complete, collection of original Don Gibson recordings. Of course, we have Bear Family records to thank. I would gladly pay more for cd's if companies would release albums and compilations of the same quality as this. This CD includes all of the greats, to include: "Sea Of Heartbreak", "Oh Lonesome Me", "A Legend in My Time", "Blue, Blue, Day", and in my opinion, his finest, "Lonesome Number One". A total of 26 perfectly penned, sung, and recorded songs. You'd be foolish to pass this one up.

EVEN IF YOU DO NOT REMEMBER THIS GREAT ARTIST, YOU WILL ENJOY THIS ONE. FOR COUNTRY CLASSICS YOU CANT GET ANY BETTER.

I remember listening to "Wayne Rainey on ye radio dial at WCKY Cincinatti, Ohio" through my grandmother's bedroom wall late at night as I drifted off to sleep, and these Don Gibson songs are the same sounds from my childhood. Forget the remakes and don't take any chances on other collections. The subtlety is missing from the newer stereo versions and Don Gibson's voice had become much weaker, not holding the long notes as they were on the originals. Both male and female background vocals are on the old version of Sea of Heartbreak (my favorite Don Gibson Song). Female vocals are missing on the stereo remakes. The newer Sweet Dreams is unuseful after hearing the original. The old versions are ten million million million times better (ten to the nineteenth). -- Gerard Owmby, Fairfield, Iowa

I love this album, just as I love all of the ones I have by him. I have all 3 of the box sets put out by the Bear Family, and I wouldn't take a pot of gold for them. I hope my children can get a pot of gold or 2 out of them and not send them to the dump after I'm gone. They don't remember country music, and that was all they were raised on while they lived at my house. Something got to them. I think it went through the wires and infiltrated their brains. They are old enough to know better. The oldest is turning 50 in June. He's lost to that rock or whatever it's called these days. I tried to steer them in the right direction, but, alas, I failed.
These songs on this album are first rate and Don never sounded better on any of them.
I'm not an engineer, nor do I know the ins and outs of recording. I just know what I like, and I have LOVED Don Gibson since the late forties when I listened to him singing at the small radio station in my home town of Gastonia, the same area where he was born and grew up until he struck out to be a "country music singer and picker", actually while still a child. That was his dream. It's a mystery to me why he has never been given the accolades he so deserved. I believe I read somewhere that he had written over 300 or 400 songs. He taught himself to pick a guitar and he's an expert at it with his own style. His singing voice is definitely his own style. What more could they need to recognize him?? I don't know. It wasn't until just a few years before he passed away that they finally elected him into the CMHOF. AFter Elvis, George Strait and bunches of others whose names escape me at the moment. SEE! As much as a country music lover as I am and always was, and I can't even remember some that have been placed in the Hall of Fame. Why are they there ahead of more deserving stars of the past? A lot of who I didn't even think of as country are in the HOF. WHY ELVIS?? He was a rock and roll star. They even promoted him as such.
Like Ray Price said upon his election "It's about time" for some of the real country music pioneers to be elected and make these newer ones, like Vince Gill, who I think is a great performer, and brilliant guitarist, and seems to be a really sweet guy, but, I don't think he should be in the HOF ahead of the older ones who definitely earned their ways into it many years ago, and were so much a part of making country music what it was. I can no longer say what it is. I just can dream about what it was. And thankfully, we have these CDs of their works. What they are calling Country Music today, is nowhere near what Jimmie Rodgers, Uncle Dave, Homer & Jethro, (YES!!) Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Red Foley, Ernest Tubb, Kitty Wells, Patsy Montana, and many, many others would characterize as country music. I think Garth Brooks is even in there. To me he was one of those "head banger rockers". Witness his demolishing a guitar after his performance!! And swinging from the rafters. Could you see the REAL country music stars doing that?? I don't want to. I want them given what they deserve. Recognition for their contributions, and pioneering of Country Music.
I know we can't go back now. But I can dream. Meanwhile, I have my CDs and LPs, and even some 45's and 78's.
Don almost had a stroke when some rocker took one of Don's guitars and did the same thing to it on American Bandstand one time. Believe me, Dick Clark had that guitar restored to perfection. If it takes electing 12 a year to get all of the old great ones in there, then they should enshrine 12 a year. The year they elected Don, there were about that many. What is this with electing 2 or 3 and leaving the "pioneers" out?? Why isn't Dottie West in there?? We, who have signed a petition to get her in it, and we're still trying to find out, would like to know why she isn't. No word ever from the kings.
Where is the justice? Don Gibson was a country music giant. He worked his butt off and never gave up until he made it as one of the very best ever Country Music Star.
Create a new HALL OF FAME for this new genre'. They,whoever THEY are,
are constantly creating some awards show or other. Close off the Country Music HOF to just those who were REAL country music stars.
thank you

For the true Don Gibson fan, like myself, this cd is worth owning. The cuts are in chronological order, and the earlier ones are great. More recent cuts often leave something to be desired.

A great performer like Gibson deserves better, as do his fans, but there isn't much to choose from at this point.

There are good songs on this CD, but Don Gibson's voice has not matured, or the studio where this particular CD was recorded did not have accustics to help enhance his voice.