1. Move It on Over
2. A Mansion on the Hill - Hank Williams, Rose, Fred
3. Lovesick Blues - Hank Williams, Friend, Cliff
4. Wedding Bells - Hank Williams, Boone, Claude
5. Mind Your Own Business
6. You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)
7. Lost Highway - Hank Williams, Payne, Leon
8. My Bucket's Got a Hole in It - Hank Williams, Williams, Clarence
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 - Hank Williams, Payne, Leon
16. Moanin' the Blues
17. Nobody's Lonesome for Me
18. Cold, Cold Heart
19. Dear John - Hank Williams, Ritter, Tex
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 - Hank Williams, Murray, Maurice
24. (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle - Hank Williams, Davis, Jimmie
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 - Hank Williams, Williams, Curly
30. Jambalaya (On the Bayou)
31. Window Shopping - Hank Williams, Joseph, Marcel
32. Settin' the Woods on Fire - Hank Williams, Nelson, Ed G.
33. You Win Again
34. I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive - Hank Williams, Rose, Fred
35. Kaw-Liga - Hank Williams, Rose, Fred
36. Your Cheatin' Heart
37. Take These Chains from My Heart - Hank Williams, Heath, Hy
38. I Won't Be Home No More
39. Weary Blues from Waitin'
40. I Saw the Light
Amazon.com essential recording
With a legend like Hank, than man who largely dragged country music into the modern age, the question is how do you pick just 40 of his songs? There were the immediately obvious biggies like "Hey Good Lookin'," "Jambalaya," and "Move It On Over," but almost everything was a gem in one way or another. Whether this collection is the greatest hits or not will depend on the listener, but for anyone with even the slightest curiosity about country music, it's essential listening. Hank was a landmark of the genre, and to hear him is to understand how country could change from rural to urban. Essential listening for everyone. --Chris Nickson
|
Click on Product Listings for Details!
Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits
- Audio CD: 0 pages (1990-10-25)
- Publisher: Polygram UK
- Label: Polygram UK
- Format: Import
- Studio: Polygram UK
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 42 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #14601
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: hank williams 2008-08-17
Comment: This a great cd for all who are hank williams fans and love his music
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: HANK WILLIAMS SR. - STILL ESSENTIAL AFTER 60 YEARS 2007-11-14
Comment: In March of 1947 Hank Williams signed with MGM Records, and released his first hit single 'Move It On Over' shortly thereafter. 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. 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.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Surpassed Only By The 3-CD Box Set 2007-08-08
Comment: 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.
That was, in essence, regarded by many as blasphemous treatment of a legend. 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.
6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Need a defintion for the word "tragedy?" 2006-05-25
Comment: Hank Sr. ( as great as it gets in American music ) dies at age 29 in 1953. 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?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Even more incredible over 50 years later 2006-05-25
Comment: If you're not familiar with Hank Sr. and want a true understanding of American music of the 20th century or hell, of American culture in general for that matter, buy this.This is the man who has influenced country, rockabilly, folk and rock for over 50 years now. Still today it's not hard to find a band somewhere covering these songs.And still there is some young person out there discovering Hank for the first time and being blown away by it. I was. I discovered Hank when I was a teenager in the early 90's, the age of Kurt Cobain, Smashing Pumpkins, etc, and to me he tapped into something that they never could. Hank is THE classic country singer, but his music transcends time, regions, and all labels and genres. It's simply American music. And very very human.
|
Music 
Enlarge View
