Disco de Don Williams: “The Definitive Collection [Remaster]”

Don Williams was extremely popular in the seventies and eighties. He had many big hits on the American country charts and was even more popular in Britain, tough this is not obvious from his modest total of two hits. One of these (I recall a gypsy woman) wasn't even released as a single in America, so you won't find it here or on any other American compilation. Look for it on a British compilation.

Twenty of the twenty-five tracks here made the top two in the country charts, with most going to number one. Among the classics are You're my best friend, Turn out the lights, Till the rivers all run dry, Say it again, Some broken hearts never mend, I'm just a country boy, Tulsa time, It must be love, I believe in you and Lord I hope this day is good.

In the year 2000, a double-CD (Anthology) was released in America containing forty of Don's finest recordings including all the tracks here, together with Lay down beside me, Falling again, Miracles, If I needed you (with Emmylou), Walking a broken heart and several other hits including more of Don's Capitol and RCA hits.

This is the strongest American single CD of Don's music, packed full of classic songs. If you are looking for a collection of Don's hits on the country charts, I recommend that you either buy this or pay the extra for Anthology, depending on whether you want the other fifteen tracks.

Now that UMG is on its umpteenth repackaging of its catalog artists (this is "Definitive," not to be confused with "Ultimate" "Greatest" or "Millennial"), it seems to be finally getting it right. The Definitive Don Williams is just that -- a generous repackaging of almost all of Williams' significant recordings. These 25 tracks laid end to end makes one realize just what a significant -- albeit understated -- presence Williams was during his peak hitmaking period in the 1970s and 1980s. "Come Early Morning," recorded before artists like Emmylou Harris and John Anderson repopularized hard country music, effectively mixes banjo, steel and a nice west Texas shuffle beat. Songs like "'Til the Rivers All Run Dry" and "I'm Just a Country Boy" emphasize that, in its rush to capitalize on Garth Brooks/Tim McGraw "power ballads," Nashville seems to have forgotten how to make quiet, "pretty" records. Williams managed to do that over and over in his career. And he made a name for himself in an era when country music was usually heard on scratchy AM radios -- not the best medium for subtle music.

With UMG gobbling up labels seemingly every hour, here's hoping they pull together other "Definitive" collections that definitively capture the rich history of country music.

I grew up on old-school country and hearing this cd really brought back a lot of memories. Still, this CD is ageless. I enjoyed the singles on this CD as much today as I did when I was little. Don Williams' voice is like soothing salve to your soul and his lyrics are designed for the common man. This is a wonderful compilation of his most popular hits; you can listen to the whole CD and still not have heard quite enough of this country legend. HIGHLY recommended!

This was a great CD if you like easy listening country & western music. Other than one song, I loved the entire collection. Great CD!

Don Williams is an all-time fave of mine in any music category and this is a great collection of his best songs. He's a thoughtful country singer, he's got something on his mind and his songs are deceptively simple. But they stay with you. And he is still the only country singer to ever put Hank Williams and Tennessee Williams together in a lyric line.

Williams is a keeper and he sounds like an old friend when he's singing, not like a buckaroo.