| Artist: Hank Williams |
| Format: | CD |
 "Pin It")
Song Listing
| At the peak of his career in 1951, Hank Williams recorded 143 songs for the Mother's Best Flour Company, Hank sang with his regular studio band and recorded his hits as well as songs he never recorded commercially anywhere else. From this amazing legacy, Time Life is proud to release the second 3-disc set Hank Williams: Revealed, another historic 3-CD, 54-track collection drawn from the Mother's Best recordings. It's a rare, informal glimpse into the heart and soul of country music's greatest star who passed away on New Year's Day 1953, at age 29. This second three-CD set drawn from the Mother's Best shows includes a little more conversation, and each disc also includes a complete show. The highlights are many. On one of the earliest surviving shows, Hank plays the just-released "Cold, Cold Heart" without any idea of what it will do for his career. On one of the later shows, his back pain is so crippling he has to sing sitting down. The spinal problems he'd had since birth had been aggravated by the year's punishing itinerary. In the songs and chatter, Hank Williams takes us back to his world. These days, we count ourselves lucky if we find an alternate take or two by any late giant of American music. To find eighteen hours of music and talk is truly without precedent. Set the time machine for 1951. Disc-1 Track Listing Disc-2 Track Listing Disc-3 Track Listing |
Album Notes and Credits
Notes & Personnel Info |
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Liner Note Author: Colin Escott. |
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Photographers: Colin Escott; Jett Williams. |
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Arranger: Hank Williams. |
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1951 was a breakthrough year for Hank Williams. He had a string of moderate country hits already under his belt, but the release that year of his version of an old jazz age novelty tune called "Lovesick Blues" suddenly made him a big star. It also meant his touring schedule increased, but he still found time that year to slip into Nashville and pre-record shows for the Mother's Best Flour Company. These good-natured and intimate performances were cut to acetate discs and then played over the air on Nashville's WSM radio station. Brittle, disposable, and made for only a few plays, these acetates were then shelved and forgotten until they were literally rescued from the trash in the '70s by an alert WSM employee. In all, 72 of these shows survived, containing some 143 songs, and this three-disc set is the second installment in Time Life's CD preservation of this amazing treasure trove. The performances are intimate and relaxed, and Williams tackles an amazingly varied set list, singing old mountain ballads, hymns, cowboy tunes, and delivering recitations of parlor poems and other various cautionary tales as well. What emerges is a full, rounded portrait of Williams at his creative and commercial peak. "Lovesick Blues" is here, along with fine versions of "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," "A Mansion on the Hill," and the Williams-composed gospel classic "I Saw the Light," among others, including a spirited instrumental romp through the old fiddle tune "Eighth of January," which celebrated the British defeat at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815 (Jimmie Driftwood added lyrics to the tune and had a huge hit with the resulting "The Battle of New Orleans" in 1959). That these long-lost recordings are an absolute treasure simply goes without saying. Hank Williams was country music's first modern superstar and that all these years later, we are given several hours of Williams performing in an intimate setting just as he was beginning to break across the nation's radar, is nothing short of a miracle. |
Producer: Colin Escott (Reissue) |
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Compilation Appearances
Associated Artists and Works
Technical Info
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Release Date : 11/02/2009 |
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Original Release Date : 2009 |
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Catalog ID : 24922D |
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Label : Time/Life Music |
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Number of Discs : 3 |
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Studio/Live : Studio |
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Mono/Stereo : Stereo |
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SPAR Code : n/a |
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UPC : 00610583316520 |
