Hank Williams Album: “Alone & Forsaken”

This great disk represents the bluesy, down-hearted side of Hank Williams. In the documentary film "Dont Look Back" we are treated to a young Bob Dylan singing some Hank Williams tunes for his backstage friends; both songs are on this album ("Lost Highway" and "So Lonesome I Could Cry"). It seems that the elder songwriter was an influence on the younger. Lyrics like those of "Alone and Forsaken" could be taken from "Oh, Mercy" or "Time out of Mind":

We met in the springtime when blossoms unfold\ The pastures were green and the meadows were gold\ Our love was in flower as summer grew on\ Her love, like the leaves, has now withered and gone\

The roses have faded, there's frost at my door\ The birds in the morning don't sing anymore\ The grass in the valley is starting to die\ And out in the darkness the whiporwills cry.

The demos toward the end are just Hank and his guitar. Without the band they may strike some as a little thin sounding. Not me though. Great album.

Given the consistenly high level of music Hank Williams produced in his brief recording career, pretty much any Hank compilation is bound to be great (unless it's a botched reissue or it features unwelcome overdubs). However, this is the one Hank disc I'll probably end up listening to the most (I also have the superb "Ultimate Collection" and the Proper (UK) issues). Why?

First, I actually like its brevity. True, the CD is barely half full (just over 40 minutes), but its length makes it perfect to listen to in one sitting (or one drive). It doesn't hurt that I picked it up for only a buck here on Amazon. Second, it features a nice balance between full band recordings and solo demos (in my opinion, some of Hank's most poignant work). Third, and most important, the song selection is, for my money, perfect. I'm yet to hear a Hank song that I don't like, but all of the songs here are personal favorites, such as "Ramblin' Man," "Lost Highway," "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Weary Blues from Waitin'," and the devastating "Angel of Death." It's also a nice touch that the lyrics are reprinted in the booklet.

On the down side, the spoken introduction by Matt Johnson of The The is totally unnecessary; its contents are already printed in the booklet, and it somewhat spoils the purity of the disc - I'll just skip it each time I listen. In addition, the intro, which should be track one, is not listed as its own track on the booklet, so all the of the track listings are off by one (there are seventeen songs, but eighteen total tracks here).

You can't go wrong with this CD if you don't have alot of his other ones, A legend. I like it and I am glad I got this one.