Back in 1993 the music industry was introduced to a new album from a man named Toby Keith. The album, self-titled "Toby Keith," didn't give the singer a look that screamed "star," but the songs sure did. The album produced four hit singles and was solidified platinum. And a star was born. Since then Keith's accomplishments in the music world have been phenomenal. He's had numerous number one hits, and all of his CD's have sold gold, with most going platinum. Not only did Keith become one of the biggest country singers in the music industry, he became one of the biggest singers in the music industry PERIOD! Now, I'm a big Toby Keith fan, but ever since establishing his own record label Keith has been releasing a new album every year. On top of that he's been in movies, TV specials, and contributed to soundtracks.
While this may sound great, his CD's have been...let's say, mostly sub-par. Yeah there is at least a couple of entertaining tracks, but if you took all the hits he's had since his last greatest hits album you'd have a decent album. Not a great album, a decent album. Which makes the inclusion of a third greatest hits CD a mere four years after the previous one puzzling. Acknowledging that Keith hasn't had too many "real" hits since then is what most likely contributed to this being a career spanning hits album instead of a standard hits album. So what is on this career spanning collection? Well for starters it contains all the songs that were on previous greatest hits albums (as far as I can tell), so longtime fans who pick this CD can throw those two CD's away (or bring them to a used music store). So "Dream Walking," "I Wanna Talk About Me," and "How Do You Like Me Now?" are all here.
Some of his weaker "hits" like "Mockingbird" and the Willie Nelson duet "Beer For My Horses" even makes the cut. Since these songs are making third or forth appearances I'll skip those songs and look at what's been added. From what is (arguably) his weakest album, "Honkytonk U," "As Good As I Once Was," and "Big Blue Note" all make the cut here. For me these are all poor songs...with the exception of "As Good As I Once Was," and even that's not a particularly memorable tune. From the brilliantly titled (though still very underwhelming) album "White Trash With Money" we get "Get Drunk and Be Somebody" and "A Little Too Late." "Get Drunk and Be Somebody" is a no-brainer, as I feel it's one of his most fun songs in years, and "A Little Too Late" is also a good song, so it's good to see them here.
It's a shame that "Crash Here Tonight" (which was also featured on the "Broken Bridges" soundtrack) didn't make the cut. No songs from Keith's Christmas album or "Big Dog Daddy" are here, so either those songs are being held off for the next greatest hits CD, or neither album produced any real hits. The sole new song is "She's A Hottie." And I have to admit, it's pretty bad. Now keep in mind, if this song was on an album filled with new material this wouldn't be an issue, but since it's the only new song on a collection of previously released songs, it stands out as a bit offensive. I'll get to why in a minute. So now here's the question: Should I buy this CD? If you are a new fan, or have never listened to Toby Keith before, then the answer is yes, yes, and yes.
While listening to the full albums will (naturally) provide a more complete and fulfilling experience, this is a great start to one of the best singers on the market. Hardcore fans though...well, not so much. Now, chances are if you are a hardcore Toby Keith fan you'll be buying this collection regardless of any review. I understand, I bought this too. That said, it's too soon for another greatest hits collection. The fact that they had to combine these songs with the old songs proves that there wasn't enough new material to make a new CD.
On top of that, the new songs included are fairly uninteresting, "She's A Hottie" is a lousy song that shouldn't have been released on this collection. It's amazing to think that Keith knew he was only going to put one new song on this CD, and that this was the song he chose. Was this the BEST he could do?! Really? I hope the extra workload doesn't cut into the quality of his songs in the future, but if this song is a glimpse into the future then I'm a bit worried. Still, despite the questionable nature behind the release, this is a great CD for new fans of Toby Keith. Old fans might want to stick with their current CD's.
If you like Toby Keith, you'll love the 2 CD collection of his hits. I don't use iTunes - but even when I download some songs from the Internet, I still buy CDs from time to time. This is a good one. If you're not familiar with the artist's music, you're probably living under a rock. But you'll like it anyhow, if you like country music. It's a good colleciton.
Hi I first heard about Toby Keith when i saw his movie Broken Bridges as i live in Australia we are not always up to date with your Country and Western singers. I was very impressed with the songs in the movie and got the soundtrack album. Then i saw advertised this album 35 Greatest Hits and i thought that i liked his voice so much i would get this album. I find his songs so varied and this reflects in his voice. His music has a very pleasant sound that you can listen to over and over. I feel that i will get many years of enjoyment listening to Toby Keith and i am very happy to have discovered his music. Thankyou Toby Keith and keep dishing out the songs and albums for all to appreciate your music. thanks all for reading this review and i hope you buy his albums and appreciate his music as much as i do. cheers from down under here in australia.
This album has Toby's biggest hits is all that's needed to be said. If you like Toby then buy this album.
But I didn't have any of his albums - this one gave me enough to enjoy without going overboard. Its a good listen.
