26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Here is the Foundation, June 21, 2000
This guy, this Lefty Frizzell, is the foundation upon which every modern male country singer has based their style on, knowingly or unknowingly. See, Lefty loved Jimmie Rodgers, and he would stick his head in the Victrola emulating what he heard. This developed into a totally original, unique way with a song and a lyric. He in turn heavily influenced George Jones, Merle Haggard, the list of legends is endless. Keith Whitley, John Anderson, Randy Travis, Tracy Lawrence, and hundreds of others copped Lefty's style knowingly or unknowingly. Today Lefty is virtually forgotten, which is unforgivable. The man never sang a bad note...he did his share of questionable material, but the flawless moments far outweigh the uninspired. This collection has just about all of it--except for some Grand Ole Opry performances and a couple of tunes that have surfaced since the release of this box set. The last three discs alone are worth the price of this set--Radio performances which often surpassed the studio counterparts, early demos from the 40's, and acoustic guitar and vocal demos of lots of great songs. This set is essential. Save your pennies, and start preaching some Lefty to your friends.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Motherlode of Hard Core Country, April 27, 2007
This review is from: Life's Like Poetry (Audio CD)
The title of this Box Set comes from a Merle Haggard song, which is appropriate, because Merle is the next link in the chain of great country singer/songwriters. There is another Merle song, "The Way it was in '51" that contains the line: "Hank and Lefty crowded every jukebox." Lefty was a very important singer, and he is not as well known as he deserves to be among the general public, but other singers, like Merle, know that he was very influential. He was on par with the likes of Hank Williams, and Jimmie Rodgers, the Singin' Brakeman.
Both Merle and Hank covered Jimmie Rodgers, for instance, Merle did a whole tribute album to him, and so did Lefty. I think that Lefty did the definitive version of "Rough and Rowdy Ways," even better than Jimmie's. Lefty also did some wicked covers of "Blue Yodel #5," & "#2," as well as "Brakeman's Blues."
This Box Set is really fantastic, but if you want to just get a Greatest Hits package, to get a taste of it, some songs to look for would be "Always Late (With Your Kisses)," "If You've Got The Money (I've Got The Time)," "I Love You a Thousand Ways," "Watermelon Time in Georgia," "The Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy," and not so well known, but deserving of a listen, "My Baby's Just Like Money."
"Saginaw, Michigan" was recently voted among the top 5 country songs about towns and cities. Lefty deserves greater fame, and his singing style influenced so many others, that his music deserves much closer scrutiny.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As Good As It Gets, October 26, 2005
From his days as a honkytonk firecracker to the deep meloncholy of his final recordings Lefty was, along with his close friends Hank Williams and Ray Price, the finest and most influencial of country singers. His ligato style has had a profound influence of great singers from Merle Haggard to Keith Whitley and Randy Travis to Scott Hisey. This great collection spans Lefty's entire career and it is riviting. This is pure country music as good as it gets. And that is very good indeed.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
