Search - Keith Whitley :: Sad Songs & Waltzes

Sad Songs & Waltzes
Keith Whitley
Sad Songs & Waltzes
Genres: Country, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (15) - Disc #1

Those who regard Keith Whitley as the country singer of his generation now have further, if not final, proof. When J.D. Crowe released the exceptional hard-country album Somewhere Between in 1981, Whitley's deep, agile voc...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Keith Whitley
Title: Sad Songs & Waltzes
Members Wishing: 2
Total Copies: 0
Label: Rounder / Umgd
Original Release Date: 9/12/2000
Release Date: 9/12/2000
Album Type: Original recording remastered
Genres: Country, Pop
Styles: Outlaw Country, Today's Country, Neotraditional, Vocal Pop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 011661039926

Synopsis

Amazon.com
Those who regard Keith Whitley as the country singer of his generation now have further, if not final, proof. When J.D. Crowe released the exceptional hard-country album Somewhere Between in 1981, Whitley's deep, agile vocals were leading the way. It was Whitley's last studio album with Crowe; he soon departed for country stardom. Eight years later, Whitley was dead from an alcohol overdose. These 15 songs mix five unreleased recordings with newly arranged and recorded versions of the Somewhere Between album. Only the vocals are preserved. Note for soulful note, the fresh backing seamlessly matches Whitley's vocal art. The previously unheard title track sounds like a spirit visitation from Lefty Frizzell, and the newly unearthed, melancholy "I Don't Know You Well Enough to Say Goodbye" deserves a spot on every honky-tonk jukebox. Even the early demo of "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind" comes off masterfully. With the exception of George Jones and George Strait, no country singer alive could do these songs greater justice. --Roy Kasten

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CD Reviews

Just when you thought we lost country to pop music...
09/22/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Numerous greatest hits albums and Keith Whitley still has the nerve to give us more incredible unreleased original material. Don't be fooled by the title, this is an album of many moods, sad a serious and down right honky-tonk fun with songs like "Where Are All The Girls I Used To Cheat With". Whitley's sound is like a pool of water in the desert of comercialized pop-country that has been infesting the genre. Hurting for a REAL country musician? Try this on for size."
A True Country Legend At His Best
Nicholas R. Nahodil | Stow, OH United States | 09/13/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Keith Whitley was and still is country music at its finest. Sad Songs and Waltzes clearly displays the pure raw talent that he possed. For those of you that have been fans of Keith Whitley you can appreciate the talent and these timeless tracks. For those of you who are new to Keith Whitley you are in for a tremendous treat. Considering that this album has sat on the shelfs since 1982 it sounds as fresh and alive as if it were recorded just yesterday. There are very few Country musicians who can hold a candle to one of the greatest Country Musicians of all time...past and present."
Essential Whitley
Don Thomason | Dunbar, KY United States | 02/07/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This reworking of early Whitley recordings (including the entire 1982 album Somewhere Between by J. D. Crowe and the New South, for whom Whitley sang) is the best tribute to date to one of country music's most influential artists at the beginning of his country career. Guest artists (Alison Krauss, Carl Jackson, Diamond Rio`s Gene Johnson, Dale Ann Bradley) add their talents to these tracks, but they do so totally in a support capacity and the only identity evident on this album is Whitley's. And that's more than enough -- the emotion, phrasing, and straightforwardness with a honky tonk pathos that made Whitley (a Lefty Frizzell acolyte) so revered is center stage. The music here is country in its unmistakable, pure form -- featuring "Long Black Limousine," Haggard's "Somewhere Between," Lefty's "I Never Go Around Mirrors," and the Willie Nelson penned title cut, a jewel where the singer laments that his song about his lost love will not be heard: "Though my records may say it/No one will play it/For sad songs and waltzes ain't sellin' this year." Two of these songs from the 1982 album later became hits for other artists, "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind" (George Strait) and "(I've Always Been) Honky Tonk Crazy" (Gene Watson). No matter how much or little Keith Whitley you currently own, these fifteen tracks are more than worth being in your music library."