Search - Tom T Hall :: Storyteller Poet Philosopher

An interesting, but incomplete, collection

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 12/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Before I bought this, I had Greatest hits 1 and 2 on CD - they were once available as a single CD - but I wanted more of Tom's music, so I bought this box. It is an extremely interesting collection of songs (as I expected) but it doesn't include all the classics. There are enough great songs of Tom's that could have filled a third CD of equal standard to the first two. Many of his greatest hits are included, including Old dogs children and watermelon wine (my favorite), Faster horses (one of several hits missing from Greatest hits 1 and 2), I like beer, 100 children, Ballad of forty dollars and The year that Clayton Delaney died. You also get Tom's versions of some songs he wrote but which have been covered by others, including I washed my face in the morning dew, Margie's at the Lincoln Park Inn, Pamela Brown and That's how I got to Memphis. Three duets are included, these being Last of the Drifters (with Johnny Cash - it originally appeared on one of his albums), Molly and Tenbrooks (with Bill Monroe) and Hello we're lonely (with Patti Page). Elsewhere, the two CD's are filled with great songs, some of which I'd never heard before and which provide great entertainment.The obvious omissions are I miss a lot of trains, I care, I love, Country is, The little lady preacher, Who's gonna feed them hogs, Sneaky snake, Little bitty and Harper Valley PTA. However, don't let the omissions put you off buying this - there are plenty of tracks here that are not available on any other CD. It is interesting that Tom suggests (in the booklet) that he never recorded Harper Valley PTA, saying that he didn't need to - yet a version is available on Ultimate collection (which is not that - like every other Tom T Hall collection, it misses some essentials).As I write this, it is not possible to buy one Tom T Hall collection that contains all the essentials, but this is a great place to start. Most of the omissions I listed can be found on Greatest hits 2."

A wonderful retrospective album from one of the best

Robert L. Henry Jr. | 08/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've enjoyed the work of Tom T. Hall since I was 5 or 6 years old and my dad played "Sneaky Snake" for me. His songs still impress me so much; at his best, he'll make you laugh and cry and shrug and smile, all in the same song. His voice and his stories couldn't be more real. I grew up in Kentucky and, as long as I have Tom T.'s songs to listen to, I'll never be too far away. This is a really good collection of some (but not all) of his best work. Recommended highly."

Quality Collection, but Interesting Song Selection

Robert L. Henry Jr. | Paden City, WV United States | 12/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Once again, another Quality Collection from Tom T but as with other collections, obvious songs associted with Tom T are missing. The two most blanant obmissions are "Sneaky Snake" and "I Love", I would have thought these two songs could have been included since they are two of his biggest and well known songs. Also there is no order to the selections, it is like they threw the songs in a pile and drew them out with their eyes closed. The booklet included has a Bio on Tom T but no track to track insight or information about the songs.
However, given the fact that much of Tom T's music is unavailable or unissued on CD this is a refreshing collection, 50 songs included in the set and just about every track is worthy of being included. It just does not make sense to leave out some of the singer's biggest hits. However, if you buy the old Greatest Hits Vol 2, which includes the big songs left off this box set, in addition to this box you will have the best songs from this country legend"