Hank Williams Jr. Album: “America (The Way I See It)”

When I was about seven (during the Gulf War) I had this tape. I had some family in Desert Storm, so I practically wore out the "Don't Give Us A Reason" track, but the rest of the songs are great too. "I've got rights" is a great song, everyone knows the Monday Night Football song, and "Mr. Lincoln" is wonderful. This CD is practically a social commentary piece. This is the only country thing I've ever listened to, so I can't compare it to anything, but I loved it.

Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent build-up of British and American troops in the region, then known as Desert Shield, Hank wrote and recorded a message to Saddam Hussein in the form of a song, Don't give us a reason. It proved popular for a while but then people realized that maybe it was over the top, although nobody could deny that Hank's heart was in the right place. If only Saddam had heeded Hank's advice, Desert Shield would not have been upgraded to Desert Storm.

Hank wasn't planning an album release at the time but somebody had the bright idea of collecting some of Hank's thought-provoking songs together. This compilation is the result. In his brief liner notes, Hank says he's seen enough of the world to convince him that America is the greatest country in the world, but his songs show that he still sees plenty of things that he wants changed. So this is an interesting compilation with one completely new song (Don't give us a reason), eight old songs culled from previous albums, and another song (All my rowdy friends are coming over for football Monday night) that is a re-working of one of his earlier classics.

I particularly like The coalition to ban coalitions, his protest about the way people organize themselves into special interest groups. In Give a damn, he protests about people who don't care about things that they ought to. In Mr Lincoln, he protests about the way government behaves, harking back to an earlier era, In Practice what I preach, he says he lives the way he says others ought to. In A country boy survive, he gives encouragement to those who are struggling. In a lighter vein, he sings All my rowdy friends are coming over for football Monday night. In USA today, Hank contrasts the problems of America with many of the good things, pointing out that you don't see any refugees leaving the USA for other countries. The titles of the other songs (I've got rights, The American way) give you a fair idea of what they are about.

If you like Hank singing these kinds of songs, this is a handy way to get a lot of them in one place. As any dedicated fan will know, there are plenty of other songs that could have been included, but these are certainly among the best.

I remember listening to this CD as a cassette tape many years ago. This is a great old-school country CD and if you like Hank or you're just proud to be an American this CD won't disappoint you.

This Has to be the BEST Hank collection CD! I have about 40 Hank CD's and absolutely love this disc inparticular. It has classics from a couple different albums along with some rarer titles not found elsewhere. Mr. Lincoln is great and probably the most rare. Others like American Way are awesome storied lyrics both funny and sending a point home! If you don't own this album then you HAVE to buy this disc, an absolute MUST HAVE!!!!!

This Cd is great. I am just speechless. It is great. Ha Hoo