Have You Forgotten?

Darryl Worley

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 15, 2003)
• Original Release Date: April 15, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dreamworks Nashville
• ASIN: B00008S6C7
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,482 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In December 2002, country singer Darryl Worley traveled with the USO to Afghanistan, arriving home on Christmas Eve. Two days later, he collaborated with songwriter Wynn Varble on "Have You Forgotten?," a 9/11-themed call to battle that emotionally evokes the falling Twin Towers, the ruined Pentagon, and the heroes in a Pennsylvania field, even as it takes a giant leap in equating Bin Laden with Saddam Hussein. The single became an instant hit on radio, which meant Worley needed an album to go with it. The problem was, he had only a couple of new songs, including "I Will Hold My Ground." And so DreamWorks reprised six songs from Worley’s 2000 debut album, Hard Rain Don’t Last, and another half-dozen from his 2002 CD, I Miss My Friend, to form this collection. As with new songs "Shiloh" and "I Will Hold My Ground," most of the recycled songs ("POW 369," "Those Less Fortunate Than I") fit the pro-war mood or take on new interpretations in light of world events. No matter what your political bent, this compilation showcases the twangy West Tennessean as a honky-tonk master very much in the vein of Merle Haggard--even if he lacks the Hag’s irony and understatement in matters of war. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good CD, if not just for one song, November 13, 2003

By	TrezKu13 (Norfolk, VA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I like most of the tracks on this album, but of course the one that stands out the most to me is "Have You Forgotten?" If you don't like it (or this album) that's fine with me, its not that important, but personally the song makes this album worth buying and has touched me in ways I don't think any other song has or ever will.

My father worked at the Pentagon when it was attacked. The words Worley speaks in the song ring so true in my ear that its almost painful, and no I haven't forgotten "how it felt that day." I'll confess...I have almost cried listening to this song. I'm sure some of the one-star reviewers are going to give my review a "no" vote because I've said that, but its the truth.

I wouldn't call this album a classic, but it definately seems a milestone in contemporary folk music.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-timed release creates hit single, June 3, 2003

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

Worley's new single, "Have You Forgotten?," fits between the deep, every-man relevance of Alan Jackson's "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" and Toby Keith's bellicose "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)." Worley wrote his song shortly after a USO-led visit to Afghanistan, well before the U.S. engagement in Iraq. But the timing of this release reconnected his lyrical link of "this war" from Afghanistan to Iraq, and created both a hit single, and a lightning rod for debate. The follow-up track, "I Will Hold My Ground," fleshes out Worley's black-and-white world view, his protagonist resigned to either avoidance or confrontation, rather than reason, negotiation or conciliation. It's a toe-tapper, and in its anger it no doubt expresses the free-floating anxiety of many post-9/11 Americans.

With a hit single to promote, but without a finished album to support it, Dreamworks rush-released this collection, pairing four new tracks with a dozen reprised from Worley's first two albums. The new tracks also include the string-laden Civil War themed "Shiloh," and the Mexicali-flavored "I Need a Breather." The latter, with its workingman's call-to-relaxation and the gentle breezes of Jimmy Buffett's Gulf Coast blowing through it, provides welcome balance to the pro-war sentiments.

The reissued cuts show Worley to be an accomplished artist, moving easily from sentimental ballads ("POW" "Back Where I Belong") to honky-tonk dance tunes ("Tennessee River Run"). The twang in his voice shows a healthy dose of his Tennessee upbringing, with the honeyed-edge of Randy Travis, and a way with words reminiscent of Merle Haggard, Mel Tillis and Tom T. Hall. Worley combines twang and modern production in much the same way as Brad Paisley, skirting the edge of slickness while still remaining radio-ready.

25 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Semi-Collection, May 12, 2003

By	James E. Bagley "Jim Bagley" (Sanatoga, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Darryl Worley's 9/11 ode "Have You Forgotten?" stormed to the top of the country singles charts in only five weeks. Caught off-guard with no album ready to capitalize on its popularity, the label decided to take the four new recordings Worley had completed and package them alongside twelve songs from his first two underappreciated albums (2000's Hard Rain Don't Last and 2002's I Miss My Friend).

Worley constructed the album's first half as a tribute to the American solider. Leading off with the hit title track, he takes a feisty stand on "I Will Hold My Ground," then aches for those lost in war on "Shiloh."

Just when it seems that he's hankering to be the new millennium's Barry Sadler, the album's second half kicks in, effectively displaying Worley's diversity. It includes his five prior hits, like the touching "I Miss My Friend" and the optimistic "Second Wind," as well as the amusing, tropical-flavored new recording "I Need A Breather."

This package serves to effectively reintroduce Worley to the music buying (not always the same as the radio-listening) public. A bright future awaits.