Reviews (32)

It's pretty good.
I don't really think its correct to label this as a "duets" album, since some of the performers don't even sing, they just play guitar or whatever, and the ones that do sing are rarely adding more than background vocals.Thats okay though, since Jerry Lee Lewis really is the star here.I'm surprised he sounds this good considering he's, what, 71 now?I mean, he can still play really well, and his voice sounds pretty good still.
A Rock and Roll Street Brawl
Make no mistake. The star of this CD is the piano playing of Jerry Lee Lewis. The boozy duets with George Jones, Merle Haggard, Ringo Starr and Keith Richards are as comfortable as your favorite slippers. But the true highlight of this CD is the street brawl between Jerry Lee's piano and the guitar of Jimmy Page, on "Rock and Roll". The track opens with a typical Page high octane riff, followed by the Killer saying, "This IS rock and roll!" You sense a battle brewing: the kid gunslinger (OK, middle-aged gunslinger), looking for the legend. And the legend doesn't back down. The battle for supremacy between the piano and the guitar rages at a furious pace, reminiscent of a John Wayne-Richard Widmark fist fight, rolling in a dusty street, both relishing the battle. One gets the sense that Lewis and Page call it a draw at the end, put their arms around each other, and walk back into the bar. This IS a new classic of rock and roll.

The Killer rocks on
Many duet albums have been released last couple of years, but this one is really something special. Jerry lee Lewis his piano playing and vocals are upfront and sound amazing, the guest artists show really respect for The Killers talent.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Honky Tonk    2. Oldies    3. Pop    4. Rock    5. Rock & Roll    6. Traditional Country    7. United States of America   

Editorial Review

With stunning album-length explorations of jazz and 1950s acoustic skiffle and a country-rockabilly collaboration with Linda Gail Lewis behind him, Van Morrison continues exploring classic country with compelling reinterpretations of standards from the 1950s to the 1970s. He reaches back over half a century for Hank Williams Sr.'s "Half As Much," "Your Cheatin' Heart," and "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" and Webb Pierce's landmark honky-tonk hits "Back Street Affair," "There Stands the Glass," and "More and More." Moving to the mid-'60s, he capably explores George Jones's "Things Have Gone to Pieces" and Connie Smith's "Once a Day." The 1970s are his limit, however, as he probes Rodney Crowell's "'Til I Gain Control Again." Three Morrison originals blend nicely into this mix, as do two non-country favorites: Chuck Willis's "What Am I Living For" and a gleeful spin on Blue Lu Barker's 1938 jazzy, single-entendre favorite "Don't You Make Me High." Recorded in Ireland with uncluttered hard-country backing, Read more

Reviews (69)

Cross-genre master
Morrison has produced credible albums in Rock, Blues, and Jazz genres. Pay the Devil has the Irish soulster performing classic American country music and some originals that sound entirely appropriate between Hank Williams and Clarence Williams.
Sweet and Sharp - Deceptively Well Crafted
This album is deceptive - on first hearing in a setting with lots of distractions, it actually sounded unremarkeable, as if the songs were done almost casually, one or 2 takes each.But as I listened again, I was stopped when I heared that familiar sharp, plangent, emphatic and superbly modulated voice reaching for real feeling in "What Am I Living For?" - "hey, he cares about this stuff!" I said to myself.At the end of that song someone (Van?) says "hey, that was worth it."Indeed it was! - great country soul singing of a not-normally-country tune.The next tune, a Van original, "This Has Got To Stop," knocked me out - uncompromising deeply felt lyrics, rolling beat, syncopated shouts - a real Van Morrison song, country style.Then the rest of the record came clear to me.There are some great renditions of songs that should sound completely hackneyed, a la Ray Charles' "Modern Sounds," which may well have been the starting place for this record.And - the crucial test - his Hank songs add to the vocabulary.Van doesn't give anything away to any country singer, or even Ray.He channels that feisty, angry, hurt, caring persona into some great country music - this said by a guy (me) who owns 20+ each of Hank Williams and George Jones records, 30+ Ralph Stanley/Stanley Bros. records, and everything Merle Haggard, ever did, etc.

marking time
When Van Morrison is on his game-Astral Weeks, Moondance, Into the Music, Tupelo Honey etc. he's as good as it gets.When he misses, (A Period of Transition, Avalon Sunset) there are moments of brilliance, but the record never seems to come together.Pay the Devil has moments that are quite good (Your Cheatin' Heart, Big Blue Diamonds, Half as Much, What Am I Living For) but far too many misses. IMHO he misses badly in his interpretation of Rodney Crowell's Till I Gain Control Again.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Contemporary Country    2. Country Boogie    3. Country-Pop    4. Country-Soul    5. Honky Tonk    6. Ireland    7. Nashville Sound/Countrypolitan    8. Neo-Traditionalist Country    9. Pop    10. Pop/Rock    11. Progressive Country    12. Rock    13. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

At his best, as exemplified by his 1999 megahit "How Do You Like Me Now?!" Keith is simple and direct in the tradition of Hank Williams Jr.--aware of his limitations, able to thrive within them. "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" struck a chord, though it differed little from the fist-shaking morale-boosters of previous wars. On the downside, Keith's formulaic tendencies can become tiresome, as it did on "My List," a generic celebration of life's mundane treasures. Sales notwithstanding, "Beer for My Horses" was no artistic landmark for Keith or duet partner Willie Nelson. By contrast, he and daughter Krystal have fun with the 1963 Inez and Charlie Foxx R&B hit "Mockingbird" (first revived by James Taylor and Carly Simon). "Go With Her" injects a different spin into the time-honored breakup song, wittiness absent on the gimmicky "Stays in Mexico." Raucous live performances of "You Ain't Much Fun" and his debut hit, "Should've Been a Cowboy," reflect his ability to rouse the faithful into the obligatory singalong. Read more

Features

• Enhanced

Reviews (49)

Toby Keith Greatest Hits 2
This would have been a 5 star but the CD has 3 areas that seem to have a flaw.The music skips in these areas.

LOVE it
Toby Keith is my favorite artist.This CD has almost all of my favorites on it.The only one that it doesn't have is Good to go to Mexico, but that's just one song.I'd recomend it to anyone who likes country music!

Totally Greatest!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If they had an unlimited number of stars, there wouldn't be enough room for all mine! This is a great CD with nearly ALL of my favorite Toby Keith songs! They're all super, but my favorites are I WANNA TALK ABOUT ME, THE ANGRY AMERICAN (I love that song!), BEER FOR MY HORSES (love that song next!), YOU AIN'T MUCH FUN, and SHOULD'VE BEEN A COWBOY.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Contemporary Country    2. Country    3. Honky Tonk    4. Neo-Traditionalist Country    5. New Traditionalist    6. Pop   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (4)

Should've been 4 discs - but great anyway!
Fantastic looking, excellent presentation, great contents and - overall - a fine summary of JLL's career.
The best concisecareer retrospectiveavailable
Time-Life managed to pull off a great feat by putting together a set that will not only be pleasing to the casual fan, but will also appeal to the die-hard JLL collectors.It consists of three disks, each focusing on a particular phase in his career.
awesome
every song is great and it goes through his whole career. the only complaint is as a box set how can it be missing so many good songs. wheres "crazy arms", "save the last dance for me", "that lucky old sun", "ubangi stomp", "when the saints go marching in", and"she still comes around (to love whats lefts of me)"? these were all big jerry lee lewis songs and should be on here. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Box Sets (Audio Only)    2. Honky Tonk    3. Oldies    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock & Roll    7. Rockabilly    8. Traditional Country    9. United States of America   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (7)

Some GREAT Tunes, Some So-So, Bare Bones Packaging but Still a Good Duets Collection of Johnny and June
JOHNNY CASH & JUNE CARTER CASH: 16 BIGGEST HITS is a decent collection of songs, some are excellent, some are just okay. If the song list looks interesting to you, then you will probably enjoy this CD. This record company has a whole line of 16 BIGGEST HITS that they do for many of their artists, so this is the one for Johnny and June.
A great disc to own.....and, a word of caution
This disc comes highly recommend. OR, another containing the same material......however, not both [unless you are a 'completist'].
PRETTY GOOD IDEA .
Its funny, in all the years that I have been a fan of Johnny Cash I never considered a "greatest hits" of John and June duets. Interesting. Actually, to tell you the truth I never knew there were that many to fill an album. While Junes appearances lighten up a few CASH tunes, I never really considered that she was responsible for much of his sixties chart success.. (not to be mentioned the fact that SHE wrote the song RING OF FIRE..)
Read more

Subjects:  1. Country    2. Pop    3. Rock & Roll    4. Rockabilly    5. Traditional Country    6. United States of America   

Editorial Review

Moving to Los Angeles after an unproductive stint in Nashville, Kentucky-born Dwight Yoakam made a name for himself by reviving the more robust honky-tonk traditions of the Bakersfield Sound--a bold contrast with Music City's assembly-line approach. In 1984, his independently released six-song EP, Read more

Reviews (25)

I would have given 10 stars
Best CD in my collection. Terrific backing.
Great Album!!!
I'm not a BIG fan of Country Music now a days.But when I listen to this Album, it's a different story.Being from Kentucky Myself it's good to have a Country ICON from here.If you like flat out Country Rock N Roll, please buy this album you want be sorry.

Some Really Good Music
I listen to a lot of country music, but I always go back to Dwight's music. There's just something about it that's addictive.This CD has some of his best. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Country    2. Bakersfield Sound    3. Country    4. Country-Pop    5. Country-Rock    6. Neo-Traditionalist Country    7. New Traditionalist    8. Pop    9. United States of America   

Editorial Review

Hank 101. Country 101. After 27 years in print as Read more

Reviews (20)

HANK TELLS IT LIKE IT IS
I remember Hank.He could not write a bad song if he tried.The majority of his songs were about life, love and living. Often I saw myself in his songs.
Classic
Anybody who likes Hank Williams will love this album. Classic Hank (tear jerker songs) Wonderful country poetry lyrics. This album has been remastered beautifully. Enjoy!

Never grows old
Hank Williams layed the foundation for all the kids that came after Him to Build. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Country    2. Country & Western    3. Honky Tonk    4. Pop    5. Traditional Country   

Editorial Review

As a survey of Toby Keith's first four recordings (not including the seasonal Read more

Reviews (38)

It made me a fan
I puchased this Toby Keith album because I was given tickets to see him in concert and didn't know even one of his songs. I became a fan of Toby's soon after listening to this CD. Although he talks through a lot of "Getcha Some", it's become of my favorites out of the fourteen tracks."You Ain't Much Fun" is an awesome song, even if the message isn't very considerate.This album is a great collection of country!

Awesome
I not a HUGE country fan but I like some of it. Toby Keith's greatest hits volume one is AWESOME!!!There isn't one song on the cd that I don't love to listen to over and over again! My autistic son who hates almost ALL music LOVES #10 LOL.We put it on repeat in the car!!!

This one is actually worth owning!
WOW...more than ONE song on here makes it worth owning!!! I sooo wish Toby would go back to this type of music. The last couple years his music has gone downhill BIG time! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Contemporary Country    2. Country    3. Country & Western    4. Honky Tonk    5. Neo-Traditionalist Country    6. New Traditionalist    7. Pop    8. Vocals   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (2)

Does Jerry's career the justice it deserves
Jerry Lee Lewis compilations have often been lackluster affairs. The bulk of them focus on his years at Sun, while others are cheap and messy overviews of his country material. Seldom do these compilations justice to the performer Jerry Lee Lewis really was. In essence Jerry was a Southern man, a true country star. His songs are honest and raw tales about the ups and downs on the wild side, they don't call him the Killer for nothing.
A genuine 'Best Of' ... almost
The Music? Five stars without a doubt...marvellous, fantastic, prime-Killer cuts, the absolute top man....
Read more

Subjects:  1. Honky Tonk    2. Oldies    3. Pop    4. Rock    5. Rock & Roll    6. Rockabilly    7. Traditional Country   

Editorial Review

Though it might not be fair to say that Toby Keith has mellowed, he has definitely matured. Rather than taking political potshots, he exchanges bully-boy bluster for a tone of wry bemusement on "Big Blue Note" and "She Left Me," tempering middle-aged pride with a confession that the years have taken their toll on "As Good as I Once Was." After flexing his muscles with the album-opening title track, which sets Keith's musical autobiography to the trademark lope of Waylon Jennings, he showcases the subtler side of his vocal artistry on "She Ain't Hooked on Me No More"--a duet with Merle Haggard--and "Knock Yourself Out," while turning almost tender on "Your Smile" and "Where You Gonna Go." For those who miss the old Toby, there's "Just the Guy to Do It," which proceeds from one of the cheesiest pickup lines ever ("Do blondes really have more fun/Or are they just easier to spot in the dark?") into promises to punch out an errant boyfriend. Yet even this song has more of a Caribbean lilt than the macho swagger of Keith's younger days. Read more

Reviews (57)

BORRRRRRINGGGGGG
This guy is so narcissistic I can't believe he's so popoular.In many ways he's no different from his yang the Dixie Chicks.Two self agrandizing peas in a pod

~TOBY IS BACK....SOME GREAT TUNES~
Great cd with some good tunes. Purchased for boyfriend that likes the song about not a good as I once was? I like the song myself. Purchased mainly for that song. Kinda fits when you get older but still have it somewhat going on~Worth buying!! Song makes you feel younger and brings back some old memories.

T_Rae_Rae_Powder_luver
Toby you are so great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Read more

Subjects:  1. Contemporary Country    2. Country    3. Country-Pop    4. Honky Tonk    5. Neo-Traditionalist Country    6. New Traditionalist    7. Pop   

Editorial Review

While Read more

Reviews (30)

All time Favorite
I used to listen to Johnny when I was just a young kid and I have always loved his music. When I saw I could get his Greatest Hits on CD I jumped at the chance.

Timeless Treasure
After hearing the "Ballad of Jim Bridger" while in Montana--It
North to Alaska
Had to have this song. Perfect for my video of the cruise we took to Alaska. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Country    2. Country & Western    3. Honky Tonk    4. Nashville Sound/Countrypolitan    5. Oldies    6. Pop    7. Traditional Country   

Subjects:  1. Blues-Rock    2. Contemporary Blues    3. Contemporary Singer/Songwriter    4. Country-Folk    5. Honky Tonk    6. New Orleans Blues    7. Pop    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop    10. Singer/Songwriter    11. Slide Guitar Blues   

Editorial Review

Her mother was 16 when she had her, and her father moved on when she was two. By the age of 15, with a double-barrel shotgun always at the ready, she was managing a kicker bar in rural Illinois where the corn fields meet the pig farms. That gave Gretchen Wilson something to sing about, with attitude in spades. "You might think I'm trashy, a little too hardcore," she admits on the smash single "Redneck Woman," "but in my neck of the woods I'm just the girl next door." Wilson, already the toast of Nashville before this full-length debut hit the shelves, isn't just putting the trailer park back into country music--she's the antidote to Shania and Faith. Nothing here sounds manufactured or studied, and the best songs are those she wrote. If most of those spotlight the fightin' side that has made "Redneck Woman" an anthem with blue-collar babes, she lets her vulnerability show on her choice of covers, particularly Leslie Satcher's gospel-rap of "Chariot" and the marital weeper "The Bed." Whatever you think of Wilson, who packs a hint of Sammi Smith and Allison Moorer--and even Janis Joplin--into her double-fisted delivery, you won't forget her. Move over, Loretta. Make way, Tanya. Here's another good ol' honky-tonk girl. Read more

Reviews (162)

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Gretchen has an amazing voice.Just wish she'd drop the "Skoal" thing, yuk...

Here for the party
I liked this cd so much that after loosing the first one I purchased another

Dancing with my daughter
Love this album! My 2 year old and I crank this up, and while I do my housework and play with her to the beat, she dances around, clapping her hands and giggling to the beat. Great "new" artist, with a great voice. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Contemporary Country    2. Country    3. Country-Pop    4. Honky Tonk    5. Pop    6. Traditional Country   

Editorial Review

Garage-rock hero Jack White producing honky-tonk legend Loretta Lynn? And Lynn comparing him to renowned Nashville producer Owen Bradley? Yes, we all know the world is rapidly shrinking, but now we've seen everything. Most stunning of all--they nailed it. For the first time, Lynn has written all of an album's songs, and her lyrics are as cutting and incisive as ever. On the powerful, biting "Family Tree," she brings her babies to the home of her husband's mistress so that they can see the "woman that's burning down our family tree." Throughout she cunningly tackles tried-and-true honky-tonk themes of love gone bad, drinkin', cheatin', and murder. Lynn even offers a compelling slice of theological fatalism ("God Makes No Mistakes"). White's production--mostly stark and atmospheric--ranges from more-traditional country to straight-up White Stripes, with most tracks falling somewhere in between. White duets with Lynn on the rousing one-night-stand story "Portland, Oregon," but he does not need to sing to leave his personal stamp. At 70, Lynn seems thoroughly engaged and delighted; at times she delivers some of the most emotionally potent singing of her career. A decade earlier, Johnny Cash turned to rock and rap producer Rick Rubin, and the move resuscitated Cash's career. Now, Jack White has done the same for Loretta Lynn, another country legend whose music is simply too raw and honest for the contemporary country crowd. Read more

Reviews (103)

An album that is as brilliant as it is improbable
Who'd a thunk it?Loretta Lynn, the grande dame of country music, retired for most of a decade with only a single mediocre album to show for her return to the business after her husband's death, teaming with punk-garage genius Jack White to produce the best album of her career.I only recently discovered this beauty of a disc.I had Lynn's MCA collection ALL TIME GREATEST HITS, which contained about all of the Loretta Lynn I ever expected to own.But going on a White Stripes binge lately it suddenly inspired me to sample the album I remembered he had done with Lynn.It simply bowled me over.
AWESOME
Loretta Lynn rocks.Awesome cd."Portland Oregon" is one of the best songs I have heard in a long, long, time.No one says "Oregon" like Loretta.Rock on, Loretta!

Yeah, Hey!
It is the rare CD that leaves me wanting more.It is rarer still that I hear anything out of Nashville that engages me, period.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Country    2. Americana    3. Country    4. Pop    5. Progressive Country    6. Traditional Country   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (10)

The great folk poet
The only reason for not buying this album is if you intend to go for the box set.The three Roger Miller compilations currently available offer about the same value in terms of tracks per dollar.This particular one is a genuine 'Greatest Hits' album and you won't go wrong if you buy it.
Good price & great delivery time
I really liked the price which I though was a great bargin and the delivery was very prompt which is what I expect.

genius...
Roger Miller had a syncopation of lyrics that only he could sing.As a matter of fact, when he made the rounds of the publishers in Nashville they told him 'We like your stuff but our A&R guys can't find anybody who can sing them."
Read more

Subjects:  1. Country    2. Country & Western    3. Country Comedy    4. Country-Pop    5. Honky Tonk    6. Nashville Sound/Countrypolitan    7. Pop    8. Traditional Country    9. United States of America   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (75)

Just Okay...Not What I Expected From Her AT ALL
Well I absolutely ADORED Gretchen Wilson's first album "Here For The Party"--it had fun songs and sappy ballads, and it was just so balanced and great.With "All Jacked Up", I expected pretty much the same thing, if not better.Most of the upbeat songs all sound the same--beer drinking, tobacco chewing, etc.There are only 3 ballads, but with the exception of "He Ain't Even Cold Yet" (which is just "okay"), they're all pretty good.I'm not saying that all of these songs are bad, I just wanna know: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE VARIETY, GRETCHEN?!?!Now I still do love Gretchen, and I look forward to her next album, but I hope it's better than "All Jacked Up".

Gretchen Wilson is hot as Georgia asphalt!
Gretchen Wilson is what you look for in a sexy, soultry, country and western "Diva". Her background makes her perfect for the grand ole anything! And she is great to look at, great looking gal!
She's the real deal
Maybe it's because she's from Illinois (not too far from where I grew up).Music is in your blood.I saw her in concert for DirectTV, and she likes variety.I loved the comment to the audience "well we've done country, bluegrass, jazz... I guess it's time to ROCK!".Her band is excellent.She covers Heart and Zeppelin with style.I enjoy both of her CD's too.I guarantee I'm gonna pay to see this artist live. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Contemporary Country    2. Country    3. Country-Pop    4. Honky Tonk    5. Pop    6. Traditional Country    7. United States of America   

Editorial Review

Dwight Yoakam occupies a singular position in contemporary country. No artist has better balanced mainstream commercial success with artistic, alt-country credibility, while somehow managing to embody both the music's most traditional and its most progressive impulses. Read more

Reviews (49)

Best Dwight Yet!
I have been a fan of Dwight Yoakam's music for years and this is his best CD yet. Very dry recording as if Dwight and the band are performing in your living room. As usual, great songwriting and musicians.

the best album I ever heard
this is just the best album I ever heard. on every album there's a track that don't sound that good as you want but on blaim the vain everything is perfect. my favorit is the titel track blaim the vain. I'll pretend rocks like the 50's. so, buys this album, you won't regret it
Dwight's doing what he does best.
I highly recommend this album for any long-time Dwight Yoakam fan.Unlike with some of his albums in recent years, he's not just going through the motions resinging other people's songs.In this album, it's the real Dwight and it all sounds really good.Listen to the snippets and you'll like them all! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Country    2. Bakersfield Sound    3. Country    4. Honky Tonk    5. Neo-Traditionalist Country    6. New Traditionalist    7. Pop    8. United States of America   

Editorial Review

The linkage between consumerism and popular music finds a strange analogue in William Fries, a.k.a. C.W. McCall. Trained in graphic design and advertising, Fries invented his trucker persona while working on a bakery ad campaign and helped drive the trucker craze of the '70s with a slew of novelty tunes, few of which have aged very well. McCall described his delivery as a "walkin', talkin' singin' style," though emphasis always falls on his deadpan spoken wit. McCall never took himself seriously, and tunes like "Crispy Critters" and "'Round the World with the Rubber Duck" will inspire a laugh at just how weird the '70s could be. Read more

Reviews (28)

Fun and interesting songs
C.W. McCall (nope, there was no one in the band with that name) was the creation of Billy Dale Fries. The idea for the group and the songs came from a series of advertising features Fries created for the Metz Baking Company, that included a trucker named C.W. McCall! Well, the rest, as they say, is history! Combining the work of Billy Fries, Chip Davis (of Mannheim Steamroller fame) and a number of other talents, C.W. McCall produced a number of songs that were quite popular in their time.
this is a verygood C.W. album but not the best
This is one of the better albums of C.W.McCall's tunes.
They should make every community planning board
Listen to "There won't be no country Music there won't be No Rock and Roll" before they vote on things.