Seven Decades

Hank Thompson

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 18, 2000)
• Original Release Date: July 18, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hightone Records
• ASIN: B00004U02P
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #161,658 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Ever since rock rose to dominate popular music, it has fallen upon country music to deal with matters of maturity. While rock rings with anthems of young love and angst, country croons about marriage, kids, and holding on to the farm. Who better, then, to bring us joyfully engaging tales of aging than country legend Hank Thompson, who's got a half-century of honky-swing classics behind him? Is there sex after 60? Check out "Sting in This Ole Bee," where he sings, "I may be in retirement, on Social Security, but if there's honey in that hive there's a sting in this ole bee." Tunes such as "Condo in Hondo" and "New Wine in Old Bottles" continue the theme in similar lighthearted fashion. Only jazz artist Mose Allison writes and sings about growing old with as much warmth and wit. Rounding out the program are some novelty tunes and some pop ("Scotch and Soda") and country ("In the Jailhouse Now") standards. Wherever Thompson wanders, Lloyd Maines's perky production and Thom Bresh's terrific Travis-style fingerpicking (he's Merle Travis's son, after all) keep the proceedings as honest and weathered as a desert roadhouse. --Michael Ross

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LEAVE THE AUDIENCE BEGGING FOR MORE..., July 28, 2000

By	"charleshasbrouck" (Lakeland, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

Hank Thompson can do NO WRONG! With that unabashed admission from this Thompson fan of thirty years, I can get on to my thoughts on "Seven Decades." My thirty years are just over half of this astounding legend's 54-year recording career, leading me to disbelieve anyone can sound this good at 74. Believe me, I tried to find flaws in the generous variety of country songs new and old, but except for a rare scratchiness on maybe two high notes, I couldn't find anything. Hank's selection of music for this CD illuminates all the corners of this man's wonderful career, but much of the material is "New Wine" to his followers. Hank continues to write and sing with a rich and tender love for the music that he has created, while preserving his humorous edge.Unlike the critically acclaimed and marvelous "Hank and Friends" CD from '97, this effort concentrates on the voice and, for the most part, lyrics of Hank Thompson, with a just-right seasoning of a pair of female background singers, plus a romping Western Swing track led by guitarist Tom Bresh. Still,Thompson has always been willing to venture out of the friendly confines of his own material, and gives us a sensitive, tear-inducing treatment of "Dinner For One,Please James." I think the best-written song on the CD is "New Wine In Old Bottles," but my personal favorites are "Wreck of the Old '97" and "Nancy Ann's Hotel."Don't overlook the liner notes,either, articulately written by the Hall of Famer himself. Then, when a young person tells you he likes country music, hand him this CD. After he hears a few tracks of "Seven Decades," if he responds with a broad smile and begs for more....he is truly a country music fan.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of swing and sting left this ol' bee, July 22, 2000

By	hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Fifty-three years after his first waxing for Capitol, Country Hall of Famer Hank Thompson is making some of the most vital Western Swing and Honky-Tonk around. Now in his 70s, Thompson's bravado is fully intact (if not more than a bit piqued by the ravages of age), and the hand-picked backing band (including guitarist Thom Bresh picking brilliantly in the style of his father - and one-time Thompson band member - Merle Travis) keep step nicely with the old man.

In addition to the steel-laden honky-tonk tunes (including the superb lead track, "Sting in This Ole Bee"), Thompson stretches out on his cover selections. Jimmie Rodgers' "In the Jailhouse Now" and Cindy Walker's "Triflin' Girl" are mated with less obvious picks such as the Kingston Trio's "Scotch and Soda" and Nat King Cole's pop oddity, "Dinner for One, Please James." Eduardo Lopez's accordion adds a Tejano flavor to the retirement themed "Condo in Hondo," and the tales of "Abdul Abulbul Amir" and "The Night Miss Nancy Ann's Hotel for Single Girls Burned Down" brings to mind the stories of Tom T. Hall and U. Utah Phillips.

Thompson has the same drive (and ability) to make great music that he had for his first session in 1947. Lucky for us he can find players that can keep up and a record label that's not hung up on radio hits.

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Hank, December 12, 2008

By	Phil (San Diego, CA) (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

I can't think of any other musical artist who has so convincingly established their endurance and talent in the seventh decade as Hank Thompson does with this album. I've enjoyed a variety of Hank's compilations that summarize the various labels and stages of his career, and the twofer "Dance Ranch / Songs For Rounders" just can't be topped. This collection rivals Johnny Cash's series of American recordings as a statement of enduring quality and relevance.

I especially enjoy "Condo In Hondo", just to namecheck a particular song, but the whole set is solid, nothing smacks of gratuitous filler, and Hank still has that swing. I've enjoyed this CD for the past few years and it leaves me hoping that Hank has another one up his sleeve. "Seven Decades" confirmed what I already knew, Hank Thompson is my favorite country artist.