Ultimate Collection

Gene Watson

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 20, 2001)
• Original Release Date: November 20, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hip-O Records
• ASIN: B00005RIN7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,948 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Gary Gene Watson never intended on a career in music. When you take a look at the tracks on this Ultimate Collection, it becomes evident his absence would have left a gaping hole in country music, for as one of Nashville's premiere country journalists, Robert K. Oermann, has said, "The world stops spinning when he sings." So, while, as Watson says, "I never did go looking for music, music found me," music was obviously destined for this unassuming man born in Palestine, Texas and raised in Paris, Texas. But because he took his singing in church, and with his 6 siblings, for granted, never considering that it could be a profession, to this day it is difficult for him to trace the origin of his realization that indeed it would end up being the crux of his life.

"As far back as I can remember talking, I can remember singing. My brother just younger than me played lead guitar and I was the singer, and we would entertain at a lot of the school functions and local get-togethers. But music was never one of my goals. All I ever dreamed of was working on cars," says Watson, who still enjoys dabbling on cars in his little Houston shop.

By 17, he was married (still is, to the same woman he married in 1961), and had to lie about his age to get a job building missile silos in Abilene. Six years later, in 1966, Watson moved to Dallas where an uncle helped him get his first professional job as a singer at a club called The Palms. Still, he didn't take the possibility of making a living at music seriously, until moving to Houston where he formed a band called Gene Watson and the Other Four, dropping the Gary from his name.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great cross-licensed compilation of Gene Watson classics, January 16, 2003

By	Bradley Olson (Bemidji, MN United States) - See all my reviews

Although the true "Ultimate Collection" of Gene's hits would include 37 tracks as he has had 37 top 40 hits, this CD issued by Hip-O does do a good job with cross-licensing from the labels he has recorded over the years in chronological order starting with 5 of his tracks from Capitol, unfortunately omitting many of his Capitol hits, especially these 2 tracks which would be truly essential for single disc cross-licensed compilations: "Farewell Party," and "You Could Know As Much About a Stranger," but the 5 Capitol tracks here are essential anyway which are "Love In The Hot Afternoon," "Pick The Wildwood Flower," "Where Love Begins," "Nothing Sure Looked Goodand "Paper Rosie" while the rest of his Capitol hits can be found on the "18 Greatest Hits" CD available here at Amazon. The rest of this disc follows his career from his years on MCA by duplicating all of the tracks on the MCA CD called "Greatest Hits" including such essentials as "Fourteen Carat Mind," his sole #1 hit, "You're Out Doing What I'm Here Doing Without," "This Dreams on Me," "Sometimes I Get Lucky and Forget," "Speak Softly (You're Talking To My Heart)" and others, making that disc unnecessary these days, plus "Got No Reason Now For Going Home" which is also from his MCA years not included on the MCA Greatest Hits album from 1986 but Curb did reissue it on their CD compilations previously as MCA and Curb do co-own the rights to the "Heartaches, Love and Stuff" album from 1984, which is the album "Got No Reason Now For Going Home" originally appeared on. The 1 MCA hit omitted is "Little By Little," which peaked at #33 in 1984, on the Little By Little album which is on CD and that CD is available right here at Amazon. The Epic years are represented here by "Cold Summer Day In Georgia," the shuffle "Memories To Burn," which peaked at #5 in 1986, "Everything I Used To Do," and "Everybody Needs a Hero," omitting "Carmen," which peaked at #32 in 1986. The final 3 tracks on this compilation are the 3 hits he had on Warner Bros., most notable in this bunch is "Don't Waste It On The Blues," a bluesy styled song that peaked at #5 in 1989. Buy this and "Eighteen Greatest Hits" and you'll have nearly all of his top 40 hits in just 2 purchases with great sound to boot. The liner note booklet on this compilation is very comprehensive making this a 5 star disc. Buy this and "Eighteen Greatest Hits" and you will have the bulk of his hits.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST OF GENE WATSON, June 26, 2002

By	Connie M. Phoebus (Delmar, DE USA) - See all my reviews

This CD has the best of Gene Watson's songs. I was looking thru some old 8-track tapes and found one that I had of Gene Watson that I bought in 1980 when I saw one of his performances. I loved his music and had not heard him in years. Since I don't have anyway of playing 8-tracks now, I looked for a CD of his songs. I found this CD and it is GREAT! It has all the songs I remembered and loved, such as "BETWEEN THIS TIME AND THE NEXT TIME", "PAPER ROSIE", "MEMORIES TO BURN" and many more. I didn't realize how much I miss Gene Watson's singing until I bought this CD. I play it over and over!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Love In The Hot Afternoon-This Dream's On Me...are classic", November 20, 2001

By	J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If the opening track ~ "LOVE IN THE HOT AFTERNOON", is any indication of what the remaining 22 selections have in-store for us, let her rip...Watson sang his way into our hearts from the mid '70s...and some of my favorites have showed up for a good time ~ "THIS DREAM'S ON ME"..."FOURTEEN CARAT MIND"..."YOU'RE OUT DOING WHAT I'M HERE DOING WITHOUT"..."GOT NO REASON FOR GOIN' HOME", and my personal all-time pick is "MEMORIES TO BURN"...whether ballads, down-home country or pure honky-tonk...his style will put a lump in your throat or a smile on your face.

Total Time: 67:13 on 23 Tracks ~ Universal/Hip-O Records 088-112-730-2 ~ (2001)