"In what appears to signal the end of Ty Herndon's career, his label has decided to wrap him up with this typically incomplete "greatest hits" package. Having recorded a complete new album, the label pretentiously decided to release an "edgy" song to radio, the now-withdrawn "Heather's Wall". When the edgy single predictably failed on what is being passed off as "country radio" these days, the label decided his career was over, scrapped the new album, gave up on Herndon, kept the "new" album title, and wrapped his career up with this package. Nice, huh?
As it is, this is a good sampler of Ty Herndon's music. Never much of a strong voice, he did have a knack for picking some decent songs as singles. Still, his two best songs are not included in this collection: "I Have To Surrender" (from "Living In A Moment") and "No Mercy" (from "Steam"). Even "Heather's Wall" should have been on here, for the sake of completeness. If Sony was planning on "tweaking" the new album before releasing it, this would be excusable, but Herndon has been dropped by the label, so the only way to get the REAL "This Is Ty Herndon" is to get it in Canada.
If you want a good collection of Ty Herndon singles, pick this up. There isn't much more substance on the regular cd's, but if you want his best songs, pick up his albums "Living In A Moment" and "Steam".
One star less for the flaccid cover of "Leave Your Hat On", a recording which Herndon himself felt the need to include an apologetic disclaimer for on "Steam", his last CD."
Half Hearted Greatest Hits
Liam | Albany, OR | 06/26/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is an attempt by Epic Records to reintroduce Ty to the public, which includes 3 tracks from the aborted full album of the same name, which is available in Canada. It is unfortunate that Epic decided not to release the full ablum because it is heads above Ty's pervious release, the tepid "Steam" cd. As for this collection, it is incomplete. For some unknown reason, the hit "No Mercy" was ommited, which was the sole reason to purchase the "Steam" cd. In addition, the recent controversal semi hit "Heather's Wall" was left out. It is unfortunate that these two key songs were not included because if Epic's goal with this collection was to remind the public what Ty is capable of, then they missed the boat. "No Mercy" and "Heather's Wall" are THE two songs of Ty's that showcase him doing something different and original than the standard love song. I say skip this so called Greatest Hits and buy the import of the full album "This Is Ty Herndon" from Canada."
Greatest Hits on Epic/Sony
Jeffrey Dean Long | Ottumwa, Iowa USA | 09/08/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a huge fan of Ty Herndon so naturally I would buy this. I was disappointed to see that Epic left 'Heather's Wall" off this collection. However they promised a glimpse of hope saying that "Heather's Wall" would be released in the fall on a cd full of new material. Not wanting to wait I purchased the Canadian version. I am glad that I did. Hearing last week Epic/Sony dropped Ty Herndon from their roster. So the chance of the new album seeing the light of day is slim to none. So if you want Ty Herndon music I suggest you pick up "Greatest Hits".
After a few years Ty Herndon music on Epic will be hard to find. Grab what you can and keep Ty living on and send a message to Epic/Sony that they let one of country music's hidden treasure go.
Good Luck Ty."
Most of Ty's Best
James E. Bagley | Sanatoga, PA USA | 07/22/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Despite a warm baritone full of emotion and a great stage presence, Ty Herndon has never had an easy time of it on the country singles charts, especially in recent years. This Is Ty Herndon was originally intended to be his fifth release of all new material. It's leadoff single "Heather's Wall" - a touching tale of a man's final thoughts before dying - barely cracked the top 40 last fall however, and the album was subsequently turned into this Greatest Hits set with three new songs.The nine prior tracks include most of his top 20 hits, such as the bouyant "Living In A Moment" and "It Must Be Love" as well as the poignant "Hands Of A Working Man" and "A Man Holding On (To A Woman Letting Go)." There is also the noisy non-hit "You Can Leave Your Hat On" where an unconvincingly lewd Herndon encourages a woman to remove most of her clothing. The omitted minor hits "No Mercy," "I Have To Surrender," and the aforementioned "Heather's Wall" are among Herndon's best recordings and would have been far more welcome.The new tracks are pleasant but unmemorable, with lead-off single "A Few Short Years" musically and thematically regurgitating the John Michael Montgomery hit "Life's A Dance." It would appear that Herndon is no longer privy to Nashville's a-list material. Too bad, as he is capable of incredible performances when he gets the right songs."