Customer Reviews

Ultimate Collection

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

 

 

First off, let me say, I hate multi-disc collections. Hate them! I thought the 12 track offering in 1994, "The Best Of Chris LeDoux" was perfect. One disc. Unless it's a box set, condense it a few tracks, and put it on a single dics.
That being said, this collection is an exception to the rule. There are very few that are, but this fits the bill.
While Chris didn't have as many big time Nashville radio "hits' as his contemporaries, he has always had a very loyal fan base of real Cowboy's and Country Boys. Brining music to the masses was never his thing. He made music for the Cowboy, the Farmer, the Rancher, and the Rocky Mountain Country folk, and he was never shy about saying so.
So, what this collection does, is bring together every song in Chris "modern" songbook that made the airwaves. Plus, the Duet with TK on the LeDoux classic Copenhagen, which was only availible previously on the now out of print "Rodeo Rock And Roll Collection."
Since, he didn't have a lot of monster hit songs, this collection would be hard to contain on one disc. While others have their "biggest," or "greatest" hits, Chris just had the songs that his fans loved. So, Capitol/EMI went ahead and took the songs that most casual Country fans knew, and put them together in a neat, no-frills package, that can be bought for the price of a single disc. This way, the people that weren't into the 30 plus classic Chris albums, but heard songs they liked on their local stations, can have all the songs they know. And while they could have trimmed six tracks off, and made this a single disc, how do you find those six songs on here that aren't as good as the other twenty? I figure it just cant be done. So, while neither disc is full to it's length, they both have 13 songs, which is as long or longer than most albums these days anyway.
I wont spend the time on this already long review to talk about individual tracks, since the tracklisting is easy to see, and anyone that is looking at this for possible purchase, knows what the songs are, simply by viewing the title.
I am a life-long Chris LeDoux fan. I have always liked his older, rodeo-days musci better, but as far as I'm concerned, the Capitol years were still amazing, and better than most other Nashville stars.
Chris LeDoux is a legend. Pure and simple. His music has touched so many people, and now, the other people that listen to Country music, that aren't Cowboys, or Plowboys, can enjoy the fruits of his late years labours.
So again, while I dont like multi-disc collections, I feel there is no better way that Capitol/EMI could have done an all-encompassing collection of Chris LeDoux's time with them than what they have prduced here.
Ten years ago, I would have given this 5 stars, and ten years from now, I will still give it 5 stars. God bless Chris LeDoux for all he did for us, and all he did for them. And thank to Capitol Records for helping the others see what they might have missed while Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley were trying to be Country.

These are all great songs, but Capitol should be ashamed to release yet another Chris LeDoux compilation. Where is some unreleased material?

As I've stated on other LeDoux reviews, Chris is my favorite singer, I have all his CDs, I've been a fan for more than 25 years, and I was a longtime member of his fan club (until the founder passed away). I LOVE Chris LeDoux's music, and I consider him a hero of sorts.

But since 1994 (12 years, obviously), Capitol has issued 10 Chris compilations of one kind or another: Best of (1994), American Cowboy box set (1994), Rodeo Rock 'n' Roll Collection (1995), Live (1997)--a great CD, Greatest Hits (1999), Cowboy (2000)--a great CD, but remakes of old songs, Capitol Collection box set (2002), 20 Originals (2004), Anthology Volume 1 (2005), and now Ultimate Collection (2006). Enough!

More than a year and a half has passed since Chris' untimely and unfortunate death in March of 2005. Why can't Capitol issue some unreleased material? Yes, the first box set has two unreleased songs and Anthology has one. But Chris started recording albums almost 30 years ago, and surely somewhere--if not from his independent days (when he made his best records) then from his Capitol/Liberty days--there must be a cache of unreleased material. Why can't Capitol give us something new? Why does the label keep recycling Chris' already released (and great) songs?

It is past time for Capitol to truly honor Chris LeDoux and burnish his wonderful legacy by giving his fans some unreleased material. PLEASE!!

Great collection of some of Chris LeDoux's best songs. I would recommend this CD to any fan. The price is also very appealing.

My husband is a big Chris LeDoux fan and now that we no longer have our subscription to a music site, I wanted him to have some Chris to listen to. I chose this particular CD over the "greatest hits" because of the reviews I had read and the reviews were true....this IS the best LeDoux collection out there! If your a fan or you know someone who is, I would highly recommend purchasing this CD

Purchased as a birthday gift, this CD quickly became a favorite. It is listened to nightly because the songs are so good.

Amazing artist and amazing songs. I enjoy listening to Chris. Other country artists have re-recorded some of his songs like "Life's a Highway" and "8 second Ride". Bob H.

Arrived quickly in perfect condition! A fantastic collection of Chris LeDoux's best! Highly recommended!

Great songs combined in these 2 CDs! If you love LeDoux then get it, and if you don't know him, then still get it! He was an amazing singer!

If you haven't already, please disregard the 1st online review - the person who wrote it is actually giving CAPITOL RECORDS a 2-star rating, NOT Chris Ledoux. Granted, these songs have all been released previously (which is obvious if you read the list of songs included in the compilation), but obviously Chris won't be releasing any new songs, since he's deceased.

Naturally, we in Wyoming are extremely proud of our down-home boy, so I might sound biased. I also have copies of every tape & CD ever released, but this is still a great gift for anyone who loves C/W, rockabilly, rodeo, lighthearted songs about being a cowboy, or great ballads. You won't find anything better in the above music categories.