Hank Snow Rca Country Legends CD

Personnel inludes: Hank Snow (vocals, guitar); Dorothy Dillard, Louis D. Nunley, Gil Wright, Mildred Kirkham, Jim Glaser, Topham Glaser, Chuck Glaser, Anita Kerr, Dolores D. Edgin (vocals); Jack Shook, Hank Garland, Ray Edenton, Randy Scruggs, Reggie Young, Al Chernet, Velma W. Smith, Harold Bradley, Pete Wade (guitar); Joseph Hale Talbot III, Kayton Roberts, Lloyd Green (steel guitar); Tommy Valden, Chubby Wise, Buford Gentry, Johnny Gimble, Buddy Spicher (fiddle); Marvin Hughes (piano, vibraphone); Bobby Wood, Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano); Ernie Newton, Charles R. Green, Joe Zinkan, Joe Osborn, Lightning Chance, Roy M. Huskey, Jr. (bass); Ralph Gallant, Farris Coursey, William Ackerman, Buddy Harman (drums).
Producers include: Hank Snow, Chet Atkins, Chuck Glaser.
Compilation producer: Rob Santos.
Personnel: Hank Snow (guitar); Chuck Glaser, Dorothy Ann Dillard, Gil Wright, Jim Glaser, Tompall Glaser, Millie Kirkham (vocals); Chet Atkins, Jack Shook, Hank Garland, Harold Bradley, Randy Scruggs, Ray Edenton, Al Chernet (guitar); Robert Wise, Tommy Vaden (fiddle); Marvin Hughes, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Bobby Wood (piano); Ralph Gallant, William Paul Ackerman, Farris Coursey (drums).
Liner Note Author: Rich Kienzle.
Recording information: Brown Radio Prod., Nashville TN (07/01/1950-06/28/1978); Glaser Sound Studios, Nashville TN (07/01/1950-06/28/1978); Rainbow Ranch, Madison TN (07/01/1950-06/28/1978); RCA Studio 1, New York NY (07/01/1950-06/28/1978); RCA Victor Studio, Nashville TN (07/01/1950-06/28/1978); Thomas Prod., Nashville TN (07/01/1950-06/28/1978).
Hank Snow hailed from Canada and had already had success in his native home before breaking big on the country charts in the United States in 1950 with "I'm Moving On." RCA Country Legends covers 16 Snow favorites recorded between 1950 and 1978, concentrating most heavily on his straight honky tonk work of the 1950s. His arrangements frequently include steel guitar, a walking bass, fiddle, and Snow's fine acoustic guitar work. Snow is a good singer, and while his vocals are less rustic than Webb Pierce's, they nonetheless retain plenty of country twang on "Golden Rocket" and "Confused with the Blues." Snow also brings his resonant vocals to bear on a number of fine, deeply felt ballads including "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I," "I Don't Hurt Anymore," and "Let Me Go, Lover." If RCA Country Legends has a weak point, it is the inclusion of Snow's popular but inferior post-'50s work, frequently with Chet Atkins producing. While Snow retains his distinct vocal style, and while songs like "Miller's Cave" were big hits, Atkins' Nashville sheen, complete with cheesy background singers, removes any sign of country grit. For fans looking for a broad overview of Snow's career, RCA Country Legends is a good starting point; for honky tonk purists, the collection mistakenly reveals Snow at his best, only to undercut this impression with second-rate work. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Remastered