The Unreleased Recordings [Box set]

Hank Williams Sr. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 28, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Time Life Entertainment
• ASIN: B001E4437W
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,589 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

At the peak of his career in 1951, Hank Williams recorded 143 songs for the Mother's Best Flour Company. Hank sang with his regular studio band and recorded his hits as well as many songs he never recorded commercially anywhere else. From this amazing legacy, Time Life is proud to release this historic 3 CD, 54 track collection drawn from the very best of the Mother's Best recordings.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Travel to 1951, October 28, 2008

By 

subtext (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unreleased Recordings (Audio CD)

This set is an astonishingly great addition to Hank Williams' recorded legacy. The 54 songs are all previously unreleased (28 of which are the only existing versions recorded by Hank Williams). These are peak-period 'Live In The Studio' recordings that equal or surpass the quality of Williams' studio masters in performance and sound quality (with a few exceptions). Some songs are preceded or followed by studio chatter, conversation, introductions or promotion of the sponsor's product (Mother's Best Flour)--and the effect is like having Hank Williams and his band in the room with you, performing his hits, personal favorite songs and brand new compositions, just for you circa 1951, if you could time travel. And now you can.

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tidal Wave of Good Fortune for Hank's Fans, October 29, 2008

By 

Rabid Shutterbug (Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unreleased Recordings (Audio CD)

Unbelievable! This is like finding the end of a rainbow for Hank's fans. Joe Palmaccio (credited with sound restoration and mastering) deserves to have his picture printed on folding money. I have over the years come into the possession of unreleased performances (like a different version of this collection's first mind-blowing cut "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain," which even has another verse); but the sound quality is nothing as good as that of most all of the songs on here; some of it sounds just like a studio record from the period.

And like a studio record, Hank is singing each song 110%. The hair on the back of my neck was up from beginning to end. It's a great day for Hank's fans to be alive! I'm one of the devoted fan who would have walked across Texas in July just for the privilege of paying 10 times what these recordings cost, and still considered myself lucky; this has to be the best buy in music history. Thankfully "The Complete Hank Williams" (which is friggin excellent, by the way) was misnamed. If "On Top of Old Smoky" or "I'll Sail My Ship Alone" don't become current radio hits, then there's little hope for mankind left. The opener on Disc 2, "I Can't Help it if I'm Still in Love With You," again, is worth the cost of this whole collection, as would be just all the banter and talking on them. What a treasure trove.
A heartfelt 'thank you' to all who made this friggin incredible collection possible. It's the best thing to happen to Hank's fans in at least a decade; I feel sorry for all Hank's fans who never got to hear this collection; this must be how winning the lottery feels.

Rabid Shutterbug
Montgomery, Alabama

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing short of a miracle!, October 28, 2008

By 

Jared Thibeau (Toronto, Ontario) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unreleased Recordings (Audio CD)

I don't know where to start my praise for this set -- I could start at its mere existence, almost 60 years from the date of the original broadcasts. Or I could marvel at the astonishing sound quality of most of these cuts -- indeed overall it is better than the studio cuts, and I'm sure much care has been devoted to the restoration. Or I could focus on the emotive delivery, the pleasure of listening to Hank's mournful wail, how his love of the music shows through in every verse, and how the accompaniment, especially the steel guitar, provides the ideal backdrop to that voice.

PS there's an amazing booklet will all kinds of interesting photos!