Following the success of Gentleman Jim (a double CD containing all of Jim's big UK hits and many other classics), his British record company released this compilation. The first CD contains Jim's covers of songs made famous by others while the second CD is an edited version of his live album, On stage.
The covers show that, while Jim's roots were in country music, he recorded songs from a diverse range of sources. There are some country songs here, of course, including I fall to pieces (Patsy Cline), From a Jack to a king (Ned Killer) and Waiting for a train (Jimmie Rodgers). I can't stop loving you began as a Don Gibson country song though it is better known via the R+B cover by Ray Charles. Similarly, Fool such as I started as a Hank Snow country song but Elvis Presley made it into an international pop hit.
Goodnight Irene became an American top ten hit in 1950 for Jo Stafford, Frank Sinatra and the country super-duo of Ernest Tubb and Red Foley, but the Weavers and Gordon Jenkins had the biggest hit, spending three months at number one and selling over two million copies. Another song popular in 1950 was Mona Lisa, which also charted in America for several singers but Nat King Cole's version was the most popular.
Several songs here pre-date 1950 including Danny boy, Take my hand precious Lord, It is no secret, Have I told you lately that I love you, Moonlight and roses, Someday you'll want me to want you, over and It's only a paper moon. The continuing popularity of these songs is proof of their quality. Carolina moon also pre-dates 1950 (it dates from 1929) but will be forever associated with Connie Francis, who revived the song almost thirty years later.
Moon River became Andy Williams' theme song though it was never a hit for him. In the UK, the song was a number one hit for the unrelated Danny Williams. Memories are made of this (Dean Martin) and Roses are red (Bobby Vinton) are other covers of songs that were fairly new at the time Jim recorded them.
This is a fascinating and entertaining collection. If you already have a collection of Jim's hits (perhaps the double-CD I mentioned earlier) and want more of his music, you will surely enjoy this. If you haven't got such a collection, I recommend youstart with one of those before worrying about this.
This is an great double cd,a real treat for Jim Reeves lovers.Hear how great Jim was singing at concerts.
The bonus cd is the concert that was released on LP in 1968,here it is edited so there is little talking between songs.I gave it 4 stars out of 5,because the concert cd is edited.Main cd contains an unusal choice of songs,not the one you get on other cd`s.Buy it from the Amazon Uk division,it will be much cheaper that way.
I'll make this short and sweet. If you like Jim Reeves, you'll love this 2 disc album. The second album is an edited version of the live concert given on a rainy day in a Pennsylvania park. It is in stereo, and the sound (unlike some editions I've heard of this)is fantastic. You get to hear Reeves' sing many of his hits live and display his sense of humor. The first disc is a potpourri of different styles of music and gives the listener a sense of the flexibility of the man and his talent. Again, if you like Jim Reeves, you'll love this. If you've never heard of Jim Reeves, this would be a good introduction to his music.
