Hank Williams, Jr Essential CD - Import

ESSENTIAL is a mid-priced collection of 18 songs performed by Hank Williams, Jr., early in his career includes covers of his father's "Long Gone Lonesome Blues," "Your Cheatin' Heart."

This is Hank Williams, Jr. of the '60s and early '70s, before his outlaw makeover. Originally recorded for MGM Records, these songs are good, but not essential. They are especially flat compared to his Elektra output. Hank Jr. covers a variety of straight country material, including a version of "A Rainy Night in Georgia," his father's classic "Your Cheatin' Heart," and two early tunes that hint at his future transformation, "Stoned at the Jukebox" and the autobiographical "Living Proof." ~ Al Campbell

More than a half-century after his death at the age of 29, the music that Hank Williams almost single-handedly put on the map -- country -- is a glittery affair and a multi-billion dollar industry. Ol' Hank probably wouldn't even recognize most of today's Nashville hitmakers as country, and any one of them who -- unimaginable though it may be -- doesn't know him would find The Essential Hank Williams: Hillbilly Legend as good a place as any to start the appreciation, as this double-disc anthology from the U.K. more than lives up to its title. There is no dearth of Williams collections on the market: in the U.S. Mercury's The Ultimate Collection and the earlier 40 Greatest Hits both offer roughly the same repertoire that The Essential Hank Williams: Hillbilly Legend does, starting with every Top Ten hit of significance (most of them occupying disc one). But the British set tosses in some extras, bringing the track count up to 52, more than either of the above-named sets. Instead of running in strict chronological order, each disc begins with recordings cut in 1947, then weaves forward and backward in time. That may not be a historically accurate representation of Williams' output but it's not a problem; the two halves each flow superbly. For the completists there are, of course, box sets of varying girth, and for the fan with more casual interest there are excellent single-disc best-ofs, but The Essential Hank Williams is a real bang-for-the-buck choice. ~ Jeff Tamarkin

UK budget-price compilation. 18 tracks including 'Your Cheatin' Heart', 'Long Gone Lonesome Blues' & 'A Rainy Night In Georgia'. Spectrum Music.