The 30 track Jim Reeves collection WELCOME TO MY WORLD was issued by BMG in 1993.
Gentleman Jim Reeves was a pioneer of the Nashville Sound, a blend of old-style country and modern pop music. Although he perished in 1964 at age 40 in a plane crash, Jim's recordings continued to chart for two decades, thanks in large part to the efforts of his widow, Mary. She reworked old tracks, overdubbed unreleased material with new instrumentation and created a series of duets, including some with Patsy Cline, who died two years before Reeves, also from a small plane accident.
The first posthumous Reeves single was Distant Drum (#1, 1966); the last was The Image of Me (#70, 1984). In 2000, the SOUNDIES company issued a small collection of Jim's leftovers on a CD called
. This may be the last we'll see of new Gentleman Jim songs.
PROGRAM--
DISC ONE
My Heart's Like a Welcome Mat (Al Courtney, Macy Lela Henry, Jim Reeves) - (1949)
Mexican Joe (Mitchell Torok) - (#1, 1953)
My Rambling Heart (Jim Amadeo, Don Grashey) - (1954)
The Padre of Old San Antone (Tim Spencer) - (1954)
Where Does a Broken Heart Go? (Jim Reeves) - (1956)
Yonder Comes a Sucker (Jim Reeves) - (#4, 1955)
According to My Heart (Cindy Walker) - (#4, 1956)
Four Walls (George Campbell, Marvin Moore) - (#1, 1957)
Blue Boy (Boudleaux Bryant) - (#2, 1958)
Billy Bayou (Roger Miller) - (#1, 1958)
Am I Losing You? (Jim Reeves) - (#3, 1957)
Home (Roger Miller) - #2, 1959)
Partners (Danny Dill) - (#5, 1959)
Need Me (Jim Reeves) - (1957)
I Know One (Jack Clement) - (1961)
DISC TWO
He'll Have to Go (Joe Allison, Audrey Allison) - (#1, 1960)
In a Mansion Stands My Love (Johnny Russell) - (1959)
I Missed Me (Bill Anderson) - (#3, 1960)
A Railroad Bum (J.A. Balthrop) - (1961)
Welcome to My World (John Hathcock, Ray Winkler) - (#2, 1964)
I'm Gonna Change Everything (Alex Zanetis) - (#2, 1962)
Little Ole Dime (Burgess, Carroll, Reeves) - (#23, 1977)
Love is No Excuse w/Dottie West (Justin Tubb) - (#7, 1964)
Rosa Rio (Cindy Walker) - (1963)
I Won't Forget You (Harlan Howard) - (1962)
Maureen (Robert B. Sherman, Cindy Walker) - (1964)
Is it Really Over? (Jim Reeves) - (#1, 1964)
Missing You (Dale Noe, Red Sovine) - (#8, 1972 - recorded in '64)
Oh, How I Miss You Tonight w/Deborah Allen (Joe Burke, Benny Davis, Mark Fisher) (#6, 1980)
Have You Ever Been Lonely? w/Patsy Cline (George Brown, Peter DeRose) (#5, 1982)
If you are a Jim Reeves fan and can get one of these 2-CD box sets at the price indicated, do so. Quickly.
The two discs of 15 songs each contain wonderful cover photos of Jim, and in the 31-page booklet, contained in a box 6" x 12" from BMG/RCA, there are numerous shots of Jim at various stages of his life. A life, I might add, cut tragically short in a 1964 plane crash which ironically had taken off from the same airport where Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Cowboy Copas had departed on their fateful flight just the year before.
There are also photos of his beautiful wife Mary, including one at his 1967 posthumous induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. A marvelous group shot at the Grand Ole Opry shows him with Hank Locklin, Del Wood, and Maxine, Bonnie, and Jim Ed Brown among other personalities. Several more show him with Ernest Tubb, Kitty Wells, Ferlin Husky, Patsy Cline, and Grandpa Jones amidst the informative liner notes written by John Rumble of the Country Music Foundation.
The music herein speaks for itself, 30 of the hundreds and hundreds of songs he recorded and, thankfully, left for posterity, including duets with Deborah Allen [track 14 disc 2] and Patsy [track 15 - disc 2]. Truly a unique and memorable voice from that era who easily crossed the line from Country to pop and even made it into the R&B charts with He'll Have To Go.
Traditional country music lovers this is a must have CD box set.Jim Reeves is number one in classic country. ENJOY
Upon reciept of the album,I looked immediately for the title song "welcome to my world". The two discs in the packet were a different color, but the songs were exactly the same, and "welcome to my world" was not on either disc. I wrote a note to that effect when returning the order, but apparently no one read my complaint. I would have been pleased for them to send a complete replacement, however they just refunded my money.
