Disco de Bobby Bare: “The All-American Boy [Box]”

Bobby Bare has been on the cutting edge of country music for almost 50 years now, and yet he seems to have been forgotten, ignored or shrugged-off by the mainstream. This is indeed a loss for the listening public, because Bare's wit and intelligence is hard to come by. It's in full display on the astoundingly full four CD box set, "All-American Boy", which chronicles Bare's Capitol and RCA releases between 1956 and 1965. Accompanied by practically doctoral liner notes, this collection may seem a bit pricey, considering that his later releases are more well-known ("Tequila Shiela", "Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn", "Marie Leveau", to name a few); however, his earliest hits are here, as well as dozens of wonderful surprises to those willing to shell out a few extra dollars. As with all Bear Family releases, "All-American Boy" is fairly comprehensive in examining several unique stages of development in Bare's career. CD1 contains the semi-autobiographical/ Elvis Presley-influenced title track, as well as fores into humorous terrain, "Vampira", "Zig Zag Twist" and "Can Can Ladies" being the most obvious. CD2 shows Bare in a more serious frame of mind, tackling such issues as dislocation (the classic "Detroit City"), heartbreak ("Dear Wastebasket" and "To Whom It May Concern") and gothic underpinnings ("Miller's Cave" and "Jeannie's Last Kiss"). CD3 contains one of his strongest songs ever, "Four Strong Winds", and a good bit of duet material with Skeeter Davis. It, along with CD4, also examine quite a number of songs recorded in German (Alle Glauben Dass Ich Glucklich Bin", "Wilder Wolf Und Brauner Bar"), in which he does a moderate job of mastering the language. CD4 is additionally interesting in the inclusion of several early covers of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash songs ("It Ain't Me, Babe", "Blowin' in the Wind", "The Long Black Veil"). One of Bare's greatest gifts as a performer is his ability to run the gamut of interpretation; his voice during this time period is smooth and expressive, conveying a wide spectrum of understanding and emotion. With 125 tunes, "All-American Boy" is quite a collection. Bobby Bare is in desperate need of a comprehensive box set that covers his entire career; however, this four CD anthology is a wonderful introduction to a legendary talent. Personal Favorites: the haunting "Four Strong Winds"; the lonesome "Detroit City", the dramatic fugitive song, "Down in Mexico", and the bitterly ironic narrative twist in the Skeeter Davis duet, "Dear John".

Another masterpiece from the Germany label. The early hard to find Capitol sides are here along with everything from his stint with Fraternity records, which includes "The All American Boy" which was mistakingly shown as by Bill Parsons, who also was an artist on the label. The essential 60's RCA recordings which made Bobby a star are all here as well. It's a bit pricey but totally worth every penny.

I just purchased this box set in December. Upon close inspection I noticed that the track Talk Me Some Sense is here in the previously unreleased version only. The released RCA version is not on the box set. If you look through the track listings in the book the released version is right above the unreleased one. So, this set is missing a track. Overall a great set I just wish the other track was there. Also, I hope they will release the rest of Bobby's RCA stuff from 1967 up.