He Kind Of Snuck Up On Everbody
Ask someone to name the major C&W stars of the late Forties and Fifties and you'll get names like Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Eddy Arnold, Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, Carl Smith, Webb Pierce, Johnny Cash, etc., etc. Rarely will anyone throw out the name Hank Thompson. But hold on. This guy, over a span of 32 years, racked up SIXTY Top 40 Country hits. Very few can top that.

After a career with Capital which, running from the late Forties to 1963, resulted in 47 such hits, Hank (born Henry William Thompson on September 3, 1925 in Waco, Texas) moved briefly to Warner where, in 1966/67 he and His Brazos Valley Boys had two hits: Where Is The Circus (# 15) and He's Got A Way With Women (# 16).

In 1968 he then moved over to Dot Records where he scored again with On Tap, In The Can, Or In The Bottle (# 7) and Smoky The Bar (# 5). Shut out in 1969 and 1970, he came back in 1971 with three hits - Next Time I Fall In Love [I Won't], The Mark Of A Heel, and I've Come Awful Close (nos. 15, 18, and 11 respectively). 1972 produced just one hit - Cab Driver which peaked at # 16 (a # 23 pop for The Mills Brothers in 1968). Unfortunately, this is the one hit from the period covered by this CD which was left out by the producer, who perhaps used to work for Collectables (or went there after leaving Varese). Either way, it's a horrible way to approach a volume such as this.

After being blanked again in 1973, Hank came back the next year with The Older The Violin, The Sweeter The Music (# 5) and Who Left The Door To Heaven Open (# 10). In 1975, on ABC/Dot his Mama Don't Low went to # 29, while in 1979 I Hear The South Callin' Me topped out at # 29 on the MCA label.

His last charter - also not included in this set, ostensibly because it came in March 1980 - was Tony's Tank-Up, Drive-In Cafe which, again on MCA, reached # 32.

Unless you can afford the box set, this CD - to which I would have gladly assigned 5 stars had it included the two missing hits - combined with Vintage Collections, will at least give you 24 of the 60 Top 40 Country hits registered by one of the most under-rated Country stars ever.

The Best Of Hank Thompson: 1966-1979
Another rewarding collection from this Country Music Hall-of-Famer. This set features a couple of remakes from his legendary Capitol records tenure accompanied by the best of his recordings from his affiliation with Warner Bros. and ABC-Dot.Hank is in fine, clear voice as he has been from the beginning of his recording career in 1947 and is accompanied by the usual western swing sounds highlighted by twin fiddles and steel guitar. This collection features several selections not generally available on CD including such novelty sounds for which he has been associated with over the years such as "Where Is The Circus" and "I See Them Everywhere." Also included is another of Hank's long-standing associations with drinking songs as evidenced by "On Tap, In The Can, Or In The Bottle." Other highlights include the slower paced "The Mark Of A Heel" and "The Older The Violin, The Sweeter The Music" which is somewhat akin to Hank's performing and recording career exceeding seven decades, a feat accomplished by only one or two others. Another highlight is an updated version of the instrumental "Wildwood Flower" featuring the Brazos Valley Boys showcasing why they have in the past been named as the top country instrumental band for fourteen consecutive years. A worthwhile collection for the personable Hank Thompson!- Bob Bernd