Customer Reviews

The Essential Porter Wagoner

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Those who love and have grown with country music will see this 20-song "Essential Porter Wagoner" as the "real" country music lost when today's stars (Garth, Faith, Shania) lost their country souls with their last names. Those disliking country will find all they hate reinforced: whimpering fiddles and weepy steel guitars, cooing background singers over a slick-haired rhinestone cowboy baritone, singing and reciting about drinking, cheating, and murder (all with a pun in the title). The 1970s "outlaw country" movement was one response to the music heard here.

But country fans then and now can learn and enjoy much from this exceptional, long-overdue CD reissue. Wagoner was arguably the 1960s' biggest country star, hosting a weekly syndicated TV show, nurturing Dolly Parton as a songwriter and live performer, and becoming one of the host pillars of the Grand Old Opry. It stemmed not only from understanding his audience (even in 1955, only rural folk who rarely saw visitors could react as Porter did on "Company's Comin'") but from the great songs a hit performer could command (three by Wagoner's "Opry Backstage" co-host Bill Anderson, himself a star of the era) and from disarmingly conversational vocals.

Wagoner's subtle singing fit the Bible Belt messages of "Satisfied Mind" and "What Would You Do (If Jesus Came To Your House)." But they also reinforced the sorrow in the barroom ballads "I've Enjoyed As Much Of This As I Can Stand," "Sorrow On The Rocks," and "I'll Go Down Swinging." (all produced in Chet Atkins' "Nashville Sound" style). They also belied the chilling last verses of "Carroll County Accident," "Green, Green Grass of Home," and Anderson's infamous "Cold, Hard Facts Of Life."

Here's hoping some of the new interest in country veterans (most recently George Jones' and Loretta Lynn's critically acclaimed LPs, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash's Grammy wins) leads to re-evaluation of this underrated genre giant. While this set could have used more photographs and session notes (little mention is made of Wagoner's great band the Wagonmasters, featuring virtuoso banjo man Buck Trent), this set lives up to its "essential" title as a long-missing piece in any country collection.

Porter was a successful country singer of the fifties and sixties but unlike (say) Jim Reeves or Don Gibson, he made no attempt to soften his music in any way to please pop audiences. He had American number one country hits with A satisfied mind (1955) and Misery loves company (1962) and had many other country top ten hits, among them being Carroll county accident (a number two hit in 1969) and Green green grass of home, which provided Porter with a top five country hit in 1965. This song became famous in 1967 when Tom Jones covered it and had an international pop hit with it, going all the way to number one in the UK.

Despite Porter's success with his own recordings and as an American TV host, he will be best remembered as the man who gave Dolly Parton her big break. Dolly was struggling for recognition when Porter selected her as a replacement for Norma Jean on his TV series and persuaded RCA to sign her up, backing his judgement by agreeing to stand any losses. He further backed his judgement by recording a lot of duet albums with Dolly and by covering many of her songs on his solo albums. Those duets are not featured on this collection but can be found on a separate collection in this series, The essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, which I've already reviewed. His uncompromising attitude to country music probably contributed to the break-up of his singing and recording partnership with Dolly seven years after it began. By that time, Dolly was the star and Porter was known mainly as her duet partner. To this day, most people first come across Porter's name via Dolly's music. While all of Dolly's fans (including me) are grateful to Porter for his part in Dolly's career, his music stands on its own merit.

This is an outstanding collection of Porter's own recordings, reminding us just what real country music was like in the fifties and sixties. On this occasion, the title Essential is appropriate. There are other songs I'd like to see made available on CD but this set contains everything you need of his solo music.

Porter Wagoner can be described with simply one word: "Class". And we certainly lack class in country music today. Forget the sequin covered suits, and listen to the honest to goodness "country" coming out in Porter's voice. I doubt anyone will ever fill Porter's niche (maybe Alan Jackson?), but this album will show you just how much he has contributed to Country Music.....and this doesn't include his great duets with Dolly. This is one album you do not want to pass up; it is extremely well recorded and mixed, and the sound is incredibly crisp. A+

Though his flashy Nudie suits (and ongoing presence at the Opry) may have subsumed his musical identity for younger audiences, there's no doubt that Wagoner was a towering country hitmaker. From his debut in the late '50s until well into the '70s his solo career yielded one-of-a-kind hits ranging from the hillbilly thrill of "Company's Comin'," to the down-on-his-luck tale of "Skid Row Joe" and the eerie storytelling of "Carroll County Accident."

He sang songs that would become chestnuts ("Green, Green Grass of Home") and balanced his secular works with tough, faith-based tunes like "What Would You Do (If Jesus Came to Your House)." His duets with Dolly Parton (anthologized on a companion volume) produced parallel artistic and commercial success.

Throughout the late-50s and early-60s, as Nashville was smoothing the twang out of their productions, Wagoner held fast to the fiddle- and steel-backed productions with which he'd started. And despite the prevailing musical tides, he continued to have hits. RCA's generous twenty-track collection is a great place to start one's journey beyond the rhinestone image to find the stellar musical performer who wore the suits.

Not only that I dig his music. Porter and Lil Jimmy Dickens are the sharpest dressing country singers around today. Of course these new guys out today don't stand a chance with there blue jeans and t-shirts. I still believe that old adage that a great custom made outfit ( suit and pants matching that is- not the tight fittin holey jeans with fancy coat look) is 80 percent of your act-plus you look like a star. This is a fantastic greatest hits package from Porter. And Porter don't you ever dare stop wearing those pretty suits.Misery loves company and The Carrol County Accident are pure country classics and are personal faves.

His flashy suits and discovering Dolly Parton make this man a legend already. This great collection of songs confirm it even more that country music would never have been as good without him.

It's a disgrace how RCA treated Porter by first dropping him and than quickly re-signing when he had a hit. By releasing this collection they do justice to his career and that makes up a little for their dumb mistake.

Highly recommended! This is country as country should be from a man with an outstanding voice.

Porter Wagoner, from West Plains, Mo had 65 Billboard chart hits from 1954-1983. That is longevity! 19 of the 20 tracks herein made those charts and follow in almost the same sequence in which they were released. Favorites are always subjective but this listener liked a melodious "Your Old Love Letters", a wailing "Misery Loves Company" and most of all "The Carroll County Accident". (Does anyone not like that one?) There is also a nice "The Last One to Touch Me', written by none other than Dolly Parton. The only tracks that failed with this listener were "I Haven't Learned a Thing"-a duet with Merle Haggard that sounds simply out of place-and "The Green, Green Grass of Home". When this reviewer was in Vietnam every touring Filipino band played that one, making it impossible to appreciate a version from "back in the World". "The Essential Porter Wagoner" showcases good solid no nonsense Country music from one of Nashville's old lions. A minor nitpick: The informative jacket insert is so poorly typeset that reading is a challenge. Perhaps future pressings will correct this defect. Why are there only 4 stars in the rating above? This reviewer believes that just as George hit his peak with Tammy, Conway with Loretta and Jim Ed Brown with his sisters or Helen Cornelius-Porter hit his musical apogee with Dolly. "The Essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton" is a true 5 star release. Hardcore fans are encouraged to listen to both albums to fully close the circle on Porter's enormous talents. The folks who compile the "Essential" series almost always succeed in delivering quality. They have done so again with "The Essential Porter Wagoner".

Wahoo! Nashville really needs to start putting out more reissues that are as good as this one! Wagoner was the last of the unreformable hicks, gloriously corny, yet country to the bone. This disc covers a lot of his best material, including the absurdly maudlin recitations such as "Skid Row Joe" and "What Would You Do If Jesus Came To Your House?" People eat those novelty tracks up with a spoon, but you should also check out his awesome weepers, such as "I'll Go Down Swinging" and "Satisfied Mind." One of the best CDs in this series -- highly recommended.

Perfect product. Fast shipping. Origionally this album was an LP disc. The remastering to a CD was done professionally, with great quality.

It would have been nice to have had two lesser known hits he was just as famous foar such as Dooley and Julie. The latter was written by Waylon Jennings and the 45 version is the only available hit version. The LP version is totally different.