Disco de The Statler Brothers: “Definitive Collection”

The line-up of the Statler brothers was Harold Reid, Lew DeWitt, Phil Balsley and Don Reid (Harold's brother) when they cut their first record, and the only line-up change since then was when Lew had to withdraw in 1982 because of vocal problems as a result of being a long-term sufferer of Crohn's disease. Jimmy Fortune replaced him. Very few groups in any genre of popular music remain as stable over such a period of time, although there have been others - the Four Tops stayed together for over 40 years.

This collection is presented in chronological order and includes some of their finest recordings. I notice that over half of the tracks are from the Jimmy Fortune era. As most of my favorites are from the Lew DeWitt era, I would have compiled it differently. Notable omissions from the Lew DeWitt era are Silver medals and sweet memories, Whatever happened to Randolph Scott?, Carry me back and Susan when she tried (a song that Elvis Presley covered) - and that's just a few of them. It must have been hard for the compilers to select just twenty-five songs to fit on a single CD.

The Jimmy Fortune era is (as I explained) well represented and includes classic songs such as Elizabeth, Too much on my heart and More than just a name on the wall.

The Statlers sang about a variety of things, but nostalgia was one of their trademarks. Normally, when singers want to go back in time, they record covers of songs from the era they want to remember. The Statlers adopted a different approach - they wrote new songs about the old days - and about old movies. Good examples include The class of '57 (about the people they went to school with, and what happened to them) and Do you remember these?

The Statlers recorded other types of song too, including love songs and gospel songs - but whatever they chose to sing, their quartet harmony singing remains one of the most recognisable sounds in country music history, so even their cover versions sound distinctive - listen to their version of Hello Mary Lou.

The set opens with Flowers on the wall, the song that provided them with their first success way back in the sixties. It even became a minor UK hit, something they were unable to repeat although they might have done if the UK division of Mercury had made an effort.

Although this is a fine collection, I recommend saving a bit more money and buying the 30th anniversary box set instead. It omits three of the tracks here (Thank God I've got you, I was there, You'll be back every night in my dreams) but includes forty other tracks and an impressive booklet. Now THAT is the definitive collection.

Other reviewers have also called into question the wisdom of trying to put together a 25-track volume on The Statler Brothers and boldly label it the "definitive collection" when you take into account their many albums, not to mention the 66 singles they put onto the Billboard Country charts between 1965 and 1990, four of them Pop crossovers (each of those is here).

I have to admit that compilation producer Mike Ragogna gave it the old college try in that all 25 tracks were hits for the brothers, all but one Top 10 (including all four # 1 entries) - and that lone exception finished at # 12. On the other hand, it seems evident that his personal preferences for their material - most of it composed by members of the group - dates from 1980 as no less than 68% of the content relates to that decade (17 selections, including 10 straight hits from 1983 to 1986).

The thing is, they did have 35 hits from 1965 to 1979 but just 32% of the content (8 hits) represent that portion of their long career. Seems to me, if a truly "definitive" compilation is to concentrate on their hits, then perhaps it should have been a 2-CD set with 50 tracks (including some selected B-sides).

Excellent sound reproduction comes from Elliott Federman of SAJE Sound in New York, and the insert contains five pages of liner notes written in July 2003 by Scott Schinder, sprinkled with vintage photos of the Statlers at various stages of their career. There is, unfortunately, no discography so I have repeated the contents in the Comment section below showing those missing details. The lack of those details also has me wondering if Flowers On The Wall is the original Columbia 1965 hit single since the entire CD is a Mercury production (their first 8 hits were for Columbia - all the rest came with Mercury).

It SOUNDS like the original rendition - but there also seem to be differences, which could result from re-mastering. It could also be a close re-recording. However, in his notes Schinder writes that Flowers "would be the Statler's last hit for Columbia; they would continue to languish on the label for five more years with little success." Excuse me? The Right One (# 30 in summer 1966), That'll Be The Day (# 37 in December 1966), Ruthless (# 10 in June 1967), You Can't Have Your Kate And Edith Too (# 10 in September 1967), Jump For Joy (# 60 May 1968), Sissy (# 75 in October 1968) and its B-side, I'm The Boy (# 60 in January 1969) were all Columbia charters, with certainly the # 10 entries qualifying as "hits" by any definition (especially as they DO include one # 10 for Mercury).

A decent compilation that could have become THE definitive gathering of their hits with the addition of one more disc - and a bit more research and discography of the type we get from Ace of London.

If you grew up listening to the Statler Brothers, you'll love this. It's an excellent collection of all their best, including songs with Jimmy Fortune after he joined the group.

This item was purchased as a Christmas gift. I am sure it will be wonderful because the recipient is a huge Statler Brothers fan.

what more can you say about the statler brothers? they are americana to the hilt. i was first introduced to them as a snot-nosed college student watching Pulp Fiction. Tarantino must have resurrected about twenty careers with that one movie. counting flowers on the wall was the catchy tune that bruce willis was humming while driving into marcelus wallace. little did i know that these guys are legends, but ALL of their songs are catchy- kind of a barber shop quartet feel with bluegrass and country thrown in for good measure. there is an element of tongue and cheek which pokes fun at middle class life in all of its quaint glory.