Customer Reviews

Tennessee Saturday Night

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

 

 

Red Foley is one of the most important (and successful) men in the history of country music (he was one of the first to have significant success in the pop charts), yet is almost forgotten today. So, it is not before time that this anthology has been released, containing 52 of Red's finest recordings. Even so, it does not always include the tracks you might expect. For example, it includes an excellent duet with the lovely Evelyn Knight (Crawdad song) but not their big duet hit (My heart cries for you), which you can get on her complation, Lass with the delicate air.

Other great duets to be found on this collection include Don't be ashamed of your age and Goodnight Irene (both with Ernest Tubb) and The lovebug (with Minnie Pearl) although none of his duets with the Andrews sisters or Kitty Wells were included. Despite one on two very sad songs (like Old Shep), this is mostly a collection of good-time boogie music.

Despite some omissions, many of Red's biggest hits can be found here, including Chattanooga shoe shine boy and Tennessee Saturday night. Perhaps his most famous song is Old Shep, a song he wrote, inspired by a dog he once owned. It was later recorded by Elvis, who also recorded Peace in the valley, another song that had been a big hit for Red. Red's versions of these songs are included here.

So, this is the compilation that Red's fans have been waiting for many years to get on CD. It's not complete, but it's by far the strongest compilation available.

*** Since I wrote the above review, further compilations have been released including a 4CD boxed set on the same label, which I hope to buy one day. If you are a committed Red Foley fan, buy that instead.

I bought this as an introduction to Red Foley and it really proved to be very enjoyable. What I found really cool were the live tracks from the Opry. I love old live stuff. There's a great track called "Foggy River" that I can't get out of my head. Anyway, if you, like me, just want to round out your country music collection by having a little Foley, this fits the bill quite nicely.

Thanks to England's "Proper Records" for providing this fine collection of one of the most influential voices in Country Music. This is a 2 CD set covering an entire career of Mr Foley, and includes a few duets with Ernest Tubb. Of course, his signature "Peace In the Valley" is included, but also much of his more rowdy and rollicking early stuff, such as: "Freight Train Boogie", "Sugarfoot Rag", and "Hot Rod Race". Chances are, unless you're a true fan of real country music (or old enough to have been there), you will not recognize many of the titles listed on this 2 CD set; but, after a listen or two, you'll hear why Red Foley remains one of the most important figures and icons in our Music. While Red flaunts his Kentucky Roots, it is apparent that he was influenced greatly by the cowboy and western sound of the era. Imagine Charlie Walker combined with Lester Flatt, and you'll get a picture of where Red was coming from. While many of the songs here retain their original sound (and recordings), the sound quality of this compilation is excellent and deserving of your time. It is too bad that Red was often overshadowed by such greats as Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzel, as one listen to this album (and more importantly, to Red's voice), and you'll come to appreciate the influence Red Foley had on Country Music.

Red Foley was one of the greatest country singers of all time. His versions of country standards like "Have I told you lately" and "Candy kisses" are excellent. "Tennessee Saturday" and "Crawdad blues" are excellent precursorts of bluesy rock 'n' roll (count the number of songs here that were covered by Jerry Lee Lewis or Elvis Presley and you'll see how important Foley was to what was to come). "Old shep" was indeed the first song Elvis sang in public. Red's version of "Foggy river" is the next best version after Moon Mullican's.

The only reason that this compilation does not deserve 5 stars is the inclusion of some horrid songs. Avoid the bad natured and terrible war-mongering "Smoke on the mountain" (who could write such stuff and get away with it!), the silly "New Jole Blon", and the pointless "Old MacDonald". However, all great artists make some slip ups and Moon Mullican did "New Jole Blon" and Frank Sinatra did "Old MacDonald" as well!