This album right here is classic classic country music. Simple lyrics, strong bluegrass roots, rough sound quality, and old fashioned vocal style are all factors that give away the age of this album. When I listen to this album I feel like I am hearing an ancient artifact of country music history. And those things let me overlook the pretty outdated dorkiness of it :)

Hank Williams was one of his era's music giants and influenced so many of the up and coming artists. Don't let his innocent outward appearance fool you, he was a wild man, especially for his time. A few of his songs on this album give you a little idea while keeping it pretty PG.

I would also like to add that, the album I am reviewing was released in LP form, but was later redone and called "Greatest Hits" in 1981. Its the same songs just different order. I picked this album because it is not missing any good songs, and if I were to recommend one, it would be this.

Your Cheatin Heart A pretty slow one, basic blugrass instruments, basic beat, but I love the lyrics. One of Hanks biggest hits and one of my favorites.

Jambalaya
Homesick Blues
Half As Much
Cold Cold Heart

Hey Good Lookin This song really is a window into the lives of the people of these times. I have to laugh when I hear this just because it didn't take much to entertain them and the lyrics really show it. I would hate to think how many time some guy sand this to his wife back in the day cause my grandpa used to sing it to my grandma all the time.

Hey, hey, good lookin',
Whatcha got cookin'?
How's about cookin' somethin' up with me?
Hey, sweet baby,
Don't you think maybe
We could find us a brand new recipe?
I got a hot-rod Ford and a two-dollar bill
And I know a spot right over the hill.
There's soda pop and the dancin's free,
So if you wanna have fun come along with me.
Hey, good lookin',
Whatcha got cookin'?
How's about cookin' somethin' up with me?

I'm free and ready,
So we can go steady.
How's about savin' all your time for me?
No more lookin',
I know I've been tooken [sic].
How's about keepin' steady company?

I'm gonna throw my date-book over the fence
And find me one for five or ten cents.
I'll keep it 'til it's covered with age
'Cause I'm writin' your name down on every page.
Hey, good lookin',
Whatcha got cookin'?
How's about cookin' somethin' up with me?


Why Don't You Love Me
Weddin Bells
Kaw Liga
So Lonesome I Could Cry
Ramblin Man

Honky Tonkin My favorite off the album. Its got great, great rhythm and I think it really gives you the best feel of his Hank's music in general. His vocals crack me up in this song. He is on the edge of yodeling at times.

Overall, I wanted to review this Hank Williams Sr. album just so you guys can check it out and experience it a couple times, not necessarily fall in love with it, because I doubt that will be the case.

I love the scene in Shawshank Redemption when Andy gets the money for the Library's expansion and they show the other con (Who'd post-requested Hank after the courtyard Opera scene) listening finally to his Hank Williams.

This thread is coming along nicely.

JayJamJah, I too love that scene and thank you


Hank Williams Jr. followed in his father's footsteps and became a country music singer with just as much, if even more, success. But he had quite a different story. At first he tried to stay in the same traditional style as Hank Sr. but that only got him mild success, and he was often called his fathers clone. Then he changed musical direction and put his own spin on things which put him on the road of his fame. But with all that fame came the drugs and crap that goes with it. Then he tried to commit suicide in 1973. He even sings in one of his biggest hits, "Family Tradition" the line

"I have loved some ladies,
and I have loved Jim Beam.
And they both tried to kill me
in 1973"

After that he joined his buddies, Waylon Jennings the boys and went a little more in the outlaw direction. Just when he started getting straightened out and getting his career back together, he was climbing a mountain in Montana and fell down it, splitting his skull open and mangling his face. He barely survived and he had to have all sorts of reconstructive surgery on his face.
After he recovered he just kept on making albums and eventually became a huge icon of Monday Night Football.

Hank Williams Jr. had more of a reputation in performance than anything, though. He was announed Entertainer of the Year three years in a row, 1986, 1987, 1988. My dad told me that he went to one of his concerts one time and he said that Hank Jr. was firing blanks out into the audience, so that tells you something about how wild his concerts are.

Hank Jr. is no great poet, he doesn't have a lot of class, and he's no guitar wizard. But this man has alot of charisma and personality that shines through in his music that makes it something personal and special.


Old Habits A pretty soft one for Hank, but good nonetheless.

"Well I kicked the habit, of smoking back sometime ago.
And I tried the hard stuff, but I had to let all that go.
But the toughest thing I ever gave up was today.
Cause old habits like you are hard to break."

Dinosaur This shows Hanks true colors a little more. In this one he talks about how he can't keep up with all this craziness and changes that are going on in the world (while at the same time expressing his low tolerance for disco and *** people), which makes him a dinosaur.

Kaw Liga Classic tune of his fathers but I do beileve his version is better. The beginning guitar riff reminds me of the beginning of "Trampled Underfoot" by Zeppelin ALOT. But anyway a cute, high energy song. He sings of a wooden Indian statue in a store and he uses some personification that makes you look at the Indian like a real person.

Here I Am Falling Of the slow songs on the album, I would say this is the best.

The Blues Man I, personally, am not huge on this one. A little bit on the boring side.

All In Alabama This song refers to his mountain accident in Montana and how he wanted to be back in his homeland of Alabama.

The American Way This song is a little more rough and tumble. He sings about his experiences in America and how he is learning "as he gains a little age, about the power of the dollar and people with white collars and the good old American way" In other words, he doesn't like the way the upper class looks at his cowboy boots and such because the good old American way is with the people without all the money.

Move It On Over His cover of this song is not bad I must say. He's got the attitude it takes to pull this song off.

Won't It Be Nice Another song about his troubles with his women. He seems to sing about this subject quite a bit :)

If You Don't Like Hank Williams Hank is pretty blunt in this song. You are no friend of his, if you don't like his father pretty much. He also mentions his strong friendships with all his fellow outlaws.

A true epic tale of the American working man in the early 1900's, and one of Johnny Cash's best themed concept albums. It tells the tale of an American railroad worker in the beginning of the century, and does a great job of doing so. Covering everything from the legend of John Henry to the details of hardships faced by the American working class during the time. Johnny Cash delivers a powerful performance on this record, showing his two best sides, sympathetic emotions, and working man frustration. A major turning point in Cash's career as his biggest hit since he released 8 albums on Columbia records before striking big with this album, which was to be followed up by the next year's 'I Walk the Line' one of the best selling country albums of the 60's. This album shows the true nature of country music more real than any other, and is why it has been chosen by me as a Classic Country Album.

Great review crash! Nice choice with the Johnny Cash. I love that almost train chugging beat they went with in Nine Pound Hammer. I'm going to look more into this album, but from what I've heard, it makes me thankful I didn't have to work on the railroad. Sounded like some hellacious hard work and its good that Johnny Cash did an album like this so we don't forget all that hard work that these Americans put into the railroad.

Feel free to do more man, love reading them.

A great bunch of albums you folks have mentioned since I last checked on this thread. Again, a bunch of names I've been meaning to look into for some time but for various reasons have simply never got round to them. The Johnny Cash album there's definitely the one that's just been pushed high up my list of musical priorities - I had a box set of best ofs about 2 years ago, lent them to a flatmate and never got them back, and I've been wanting to re-Cashify my library ever since.

Thanks for reviews :)

Now Johnny Paycheck's talent cannot even closely be compared to that of Willie Nelson or Waylon Jennings or even Merle Haggard but this ol boy has more attitute and guts than all of them combined. Willie Nelson once said in reference to Paycheck "Talk about an outlaw! I ain't got a chance!". And he was right. Unlike other outlaws that added outer influences such as jazz into their music, Johnny Paycheck was 100% country outlaw.

When you want to listen to Johnny, you want to hear him wail out about his time in prison (which he was in and out of constantly) and his rants about U.S. Government taking all the workin man's money. Unfortunately, Johnny Paycheck tried his hand at a few lovey dovey songs which came off almost hilarious and completely unbelievable, a few of which are on this album. ;)

I know what you're thinking. Why is Flower Child reviewing a greatest hits album? Well, I'll tell you. To be frank, Johnny Paycheck is the most inconsistent man in the country music business. Never, in his whole career, did he put out an album that had more than one worthwhile song on it. And since most of the people on this forum are not very familiar with Johnny Paycheck, I would just like to let you guys in on his best music without complicating it. But if you guys end up liking this cat then I will delve further in and review some of his actual albums. Since I doubt that will be the case, I'm just gonna get ol' Johnny done in one thorough sweep.

With all that being said, its time to review.

This album sums Johnny Paycheck up as best as I've seen. Complete with live rowdy performances, songs that showcased his softer side, a narrative about a "beer joint" incident, and the music that really told the world what Johnny Paycheck was all about.


Take This Job And Shove It Paycheck's most famous and recognized song that can relate to millions of people around the world saying what they wanted to say for many years- "Take this job and shove it!". In this song, Johnny moans and groans his frustrations about the nasty factory job he's had for many years and how sick he is of working there. He doesn't leave out his bosses either,

"Well that foreman, he's a regular dog
The line boss, he's a fool
Got a brand new flat-top haircut
Lord, he thinks he's cool"

This song just cracks me up, because of how many times I've heard this same threatening-to-leave gripe session from my family members. And its always the same:

One of these days, Im gonna blow my top
And that sucker, hes gonna pay
Lord I cant wait to see their faces
When I get up the nerve to say..

Take this job and shove it!

11 Months and 29 Days is about a subject Paycheck knows alot about- prison. This one has a classic beginning, with Johnny calling out "A-one, two, three, four" and on que the harmonicas start wailing out their lazy tune. He has a lyric in this song that I particularly like:

"Keep the Lonestar cold,
the dance floor hot when I'm gone
Keep your hands off my woman--
I ain't gonna be gone that long"

Only Hell (My Mama Ever Raised) In this quick number, Johnny tells of his more wilder days and how he wished he was back in the good times with his family when he wasn't getting in all of this trouble.

Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets Even though I think Paycheck is greatly over-flattering himself in this song, I do enjoy it. This one is about a rich woman who has turned Paycheck down many times because he wasn't rich enough and she didn't approve of his way of life. But every time her rich husband is out of town, Paycheck gets a call from her to come over.

She's All I Got
Ragged Old Truck

Colorado Kool-aid This in fact is not a song, but a big windy story about a knife fight narrated by none other than Johnny Paycheck himself. I do believe he was the first to coin the term "Colorado Kool-aid" because of this song
--
An' we was....what's that you say?
What's Colorado Kool-Aid?
Well, it's a can of Coors brewed from a mountain stream.
It'll set you head on fire an' make your kidneys scream

Fifteen Beers
I've Seen Better Days

Someone To Give My Love To I have never been a fan of Paycheck's songs about love, but this is definitely an exception. I find this one much more believable than the others, and it has a fantastic beat.

My Part of Forever
Yesterday's News Just Hit Home Today

(Stay Away) From the Cocaine Train (Live) The song is great in every way, really. The tinge of classic, classic country in its melody mixes well with the atmosphere and lyrics of the song. Paycheck's subject was one that troubled many county artists of that time, including himself, which he sternly warns against. I later found out an interesting tid bit. "The Fall" also did a cover of this song called "Stay Away (Old White Train)".

Me and the I.R.S. This song takes no time at all getting going. The beginning is mass of guitar and harmonica wailing and then Paycheck gets right to the point saying as the first line of the song "Well you can tell those boys at the I.R.S, this ol boy, hell I've had enough!". He pretty much says in this song what you will hear in discussions in small town bars throughout America.

Move The Feminine Touch
You Better On

I Did the Right Thing This was one of Johnny Paycheck attemps at an epically deep and thought provoking song. He failed miserably, and lets just leave it at that, haha.

When I Had a Home To Go To

Barstool Mountain On the other hand, this one is great. He goes back to what he knows a little about. The lyrics are terribly clever in this and it really is just a fun song to listen to.

I Can See Me Loving You Again
Old Violin
All Night Lady
The Outlaws Prayer

Johnny Paycheck samples

(Stay Away) The Cocaine Train
http://www.mediafire.com/file/tw2k24mmyqi/03 Cocain Train (Stay Away).m4a

Someone To Give My Love To

I just listened to Nanci Griffith's Last of the True Believers for the first time last night (kinda at random, wont get into that, lol). And I actually enjoyed a good portion of it. It's a very Stevie Nicks sheep-bahing/yodley voice she has, but it's also very pretty too. Some of the songs are also just a-grade, though there's a couple of MEHers. Your opinion of it? And if you're savvy to her material, does she have better stuff?

I know you're not asking me, but hey.

Other Voices Other Rooms is a top album, so I say you give that a try. I couldn't say if you'd think it's any better than the album you mentioned though as I've never come across that one myself. Still, I'd say it's worth the gamble.