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Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits

Hank Williams - Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits Audio CD

A fair review of the Hank Williams "Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Hank Williams reviews here, or go back to the Hank Williams tabs.

Band: Hank Williams
Title: Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Move It on Over 2: Mansion on the Hill 3: Lovesick Blues 4: Wedding Bells 5: Mind Your Own Business 6: You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave) 7: Lost Highway 8: My Bucket's Got a Hole in It 9: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry 10: I Just Don't Like This Kind of Livin' 11: Long Gone Lonesome Blues 12: My Son Calls Another Man Daddy 13: Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)? 14: Why Should We Try Anymore 15: They'll Never Take Her Love from Me 16: Moanin' the Blues 17: Nobody's Lonesome for Me 18: Cold, Cold Heart 19: Dear John 20: Howlin' at the Moon 21: I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You) 22: Hey, Good Lookin' 23: Crazy Heart 24: (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle 25: Baby, We're Really in Love 26: Ramblin' Man 27: Honky Tonk Blues 28: I'm Sorry for You, My Friend 29: Half as Much 30: Jambalaya (On the Bayou) 31: Window Shopping 32: Settin' the Woods on Fire 33: You Win Again 34: I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive 35: Kaw-Liga 36: Your Cheatin' Heart 37: Take These Chains from My Heart 38: I Won't Be Home No More 39: Weary Blues from Waitin' 40: I Saw the Light

Hank Williams still great
Funny, we grew up listening to Hank when our parents listened to it. My husband has all of the hits on one group instead of having to take three different cd collections with him. If you asked us then if we would buy cds with Hank William on it now we would have said no way man! Know our 30 year old children are buying it too. Just goes to show that Great will out last the test of time.

hank williams
This a great cd for all who are hank williams fans and love his music.

HANK WILLIAMS SR. - STILL ESSENTIAL AFTER 60 YEARS
Well, here we are in 2007 and his music is as much or more appreciated today than it was when it was released 60 years ago. In March of 1947 Hank Williams signed with MGM Records, and released his first hit single 'Move It On Over' shortly thereafter. His music laid the foundation for a musical legacy that is still being built to this day.

Like many I suppose, I was introduced to the Williams' musical legacy via Hank Williams Jr. , in the late 70's in my case. And while I enjoy some of Jr. 's songs, like 'Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound' for instance, as a whole Jr. is just not my cup of coffee.

I don't really know when I became aware of the existence of Hank Williams III; sometime in the early 00's I suppose. However, I never took the time or felt the need to investigate III, given that Jr. didn't really do all that much for me, but more so because I'm just not a big fan of Country music, never have been. I am however a fan of Rock, Metal and even some extreme Metals. Consequently, in 2004 I was reminded of III's existence through his Rock/Metal projects; 'III & Assjack' and 'Superjoint Ritual'. However, in my opinion Hank III's excursions into Rock/Metal have to date produced mediocre results at best. But because of his Rock/Metal forays I decided that maybe I should check out some of III's Country music. Well, what a great surprise, now we've got something, III's Country music is really good! And my liking his Country music was a bit surprising given that I don't care for Country music, but III's music is not your typical present-day Country music, it is in large part reminiscent of his Grandfather's music.

I found it somewhat odd and interesting that III obviously found more inspiration in his Grandfather's music than his Father's music. So, this left only one logical thing for me to do; spend some time and check out Hank Sr. 's music. Of course I'd already heard 'Your Cheatin' Heart', 'I'm So Lonesome' and 'Cold, Cold Heart', so I had a good idea of what he was about, but WOW, he has so much more great material. Sr. 's music is inspired, and is in my opinion clearly the most compelling of the three Williams boys. That is in no way meant to devalue the other two, but Sr. 's music is on a whole different plane. Sr. 's music conveys emotion which you know comes from a genuine place, you know that his music is pure and real. Hell, the man drank himself to death at the age of 29, and I don't think you can do that without being tortured by a few demons. I've often said that the tortured artist is almost without exception the most prolific, inspired, creative and brilliant. Hank Sr. is an unfortunate but prime example of that.

Well, all of this got me to thinking; given that I don't like Country music, why do I find Sr. 's music so endearing? It's simple I suppose, Sr. is PURE Country. It is not the same music that people today are calling Country music. Sr. 's music is totally unbastardized, it is Country music before subsequent generations took it and diluted it with other influences resulting in a pallid concoction that barely resembles what it once was. And this brings me to why I also like III's music. While it's not totally pure like Sr. 's, it's also not that far removed, and it's about as close to real Country as you are going to get from a present-day artist. Don't get me wrong, I do find some value in modern Country, as I would plow Twain and Hill from now till Christmas, but that is where my interest in modern Country terminates. And if you happen to be like me and think that Country music is primarily for the NASCAR set, you might be surprised by the contents of this compilation. Hank Williams Sr. is a warmly welcomed addition to my music collection, and I'm pretty certain that you'll feel the same way.

Surpassed Only By The 3-CD Box Set

That was, in essence, regarded by many as blasphemous treatment of a legend. When this came out in October 1990 as a CD version of 1978 PolyGram vinyl LPs it was welcomed by all fans of the late, great Hank Williams who were, quite simply, fed up with phony "drain-pipe" stereo releases, or those with overdubbed strings and other instruments which had permeated the market back then. These CDs, however, were the originals just as he recorded them in glorious mono, and at the time we were even willing to forgive the odd scratchy track [3 on disc 1 and 15 and 20 on disc 2 were mastered from 78 rpm records].

There were, admittedly, some key cuts missing from among the 40 selections - such as Honky Tonkin' [# 14 in 1948, I'm A Long Gone Daddy [# 6 in 1948], and Never Again (Will I Knock On Your Door) which was the flip of Lovesick Blues and a # 6 on its own in 1949 - but again we were willing to overlook that too just to get our hands on a decent Hank Williams compilation. And as a bonus there was an insert with a complete discography of the contents along with six pages of background notes written by Tony Byworth, editor of Country Music People, as well as several more candid shots of Hank.

But two years later, in 1992, PolyDor/PolyGram came out with a 3-CD box set containing 39 of those 40 tracks [only I Saw The Light is missing], along with another 45 cuts, which immediately surpassed this set.

Even so, this is still desirable if only for Byworth's notes which sum up Hank's career with this paragraph "Hank Williams couldn't read or write music, but he had created some 125 compositions, many of which have subsequently become classics of popular music. He did live to bask in some of the music's success - but he was not to realize how his material was to alter the whole concept of the idiom by opening up the way for a new breed of country writers and, in turn, songs that would reach mass audiences. Over the years his music has played a vital role in furthering the careers of a diverse range of artists that has included Frankie Laine, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Del Shannon, Johnny Cash and Dean Martin. "

To that list can be added names like Jo Stafford, Tony Bennett, Fats Domino, Rosemary Clooney, and Joni James, among many many more. One can only wonder at what classic tunes died with him on New Year's Day, 1953 when he left us some nine months shy of his 30th birthday. .

Need a defintion for the word "tragedy?"
( as great as it gets in American music ) dies at age 29 in 1953. Hank Sr. Hank Jr. continues to annoy us with musical litter to this day. . . . . . Although I have heard very good things about Hank Williams III. . . .

Here's another question; why don't we ever hear tragic stories about bands like Good Charlotte dying in plane crashes? Its always people like Buddy, Otis, and Skynyrd.

I'm not advocating murder. . . but why do sucky bands never accidently meet with a tragic end and "force" us to have to do without their music?.

You can see a complete list of all Hank Williams discography, or go back to the Hank Williams tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.