Don Williams, the gentle giant of country music, was very popular in the seventies and eighties. He had many hits on the country charts in his native America but he scored a surprise UK top twenty pop hit with I recall a gypsy woman, which wasn't even released as a single in America. So it is that American compilations never include this song while British compilations (of which this is one) always include it. Don only had one other UK hit - You're my best friend, which made the top forty but is actually his most popular song in the UK.
So this collection begins with I recall a gypsy woman and ends with You're my best friend. Between those two classics are some of the best songs that Don ever recorded including Till the rivers all run dry, Some broken hearts never end, Tulsa time, It must be love, I believe in you, Stay young and Amanda (a song that Waylon took to the top of the country charts).
Many of these songs were big hits for Don in America but this compilation was released with British buyers in mind - those looking for a comprehensive collection of his American hits should go for the double CD titled Anthology, which I've already reviewed.
This compilation serves as an ideal introduction to Don's music for Brits everywhere, including expatriates living in America who are wondering where they can find the song that originally got them interested in Don's music back in the seventies - I recall a gypsy woman.
