Vintage Collections

This Capitol compilation is a great start for any Hank Thompson fan. All of his early recordings for Capitol are included here. Hits include: I'VE GOT A HUMPTY DUMPTY HEART, WHOA SAILOR, CRYIN' IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA, THIS TRAIN, A SIX PACK TO GO, & OKLAHOMA HILLS. While some of these songs were recorded later in his life again, these are the originals! If you're new to the great music of Hank Thompson this CD would be a very good start as you won't be disappointed.

Growing up in rural Texas years ago, Hank Thompson was just one of many country musicians whose music is the "soundtrack of my youth." While, personally Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb are my "main men," Hank Thompson consistently produced great music.

This compilation is of original recordings, remastered and "cleaned up," and not a collection of "re-recordings of greatest hits" (see Ernest Tubb, and my review, for a sad collection of "greatest hits" that are all re-recordings that lack the spark that made them hits in the first place. This IS NOT LIKE THAT. Another reviewer wrote that he or she put this in their CD player on their porch and it pretty much played all the time. Well, I've got this on my iPod (downloaded from amazon at 246 kbs, then burned to CD and ripped from CD to 128 kbs so it takes up less space on my iPod), and both the 128 and 256 kbs versions are stored on my 500 MB external hard drive. I have no doubt that will get a LOT of play.

For the price, this is a bargain! Even if the price was the full $8.99 or $9.99, it would be a bargain! This is great stuff. It's fun to hear Hank's "Honky Tonk Heroes" and know that this song is what sparked Patsy Cline's response -- and jump-started HER career. This is just great stuff from beginning to end. Highly, highly recommended!

If you are a fan of classic twang, this is a great addition to Thompson's recording on the Bloodshot label. The sound quality is good and the tunes are good old fashioned fun.

I just got this in the mail today, and I'm really happy with it. The music, of course, is great. In my opinion, the finest country music of the 50's. the quality of the recordings is pristine and naturally, Hank and the Brazos Valley Boys sound perfect. If you've never heard Hank, he's got one of the most likable and distinctive voices you'll ever hear, and achieves a great balance between western swing and honky-tonk.

I was especially thrilled with the quality of the packaging. There are some wonderful photos of Hank, both publicity shots and candid pics, and you can tell that someone really took their time with the design. I'd never purchased a Capitol "Vintage Collections" but I'd say I'm pretty near inclined to do it again. I know it doesn't matter as much as we move more and more towards not even needing discs. But to me, it counts. And for the price, it's nearly unbelievable that the craftsmanship is so high.

I remember him from way back there in the late 40's to now. And whenever I couldn't buy anymore of his albums. That's ok, I just listened to my LPs and cassettes. Now I'm loading up on CDs. It's got everything: swing, western, honky tonk, blues and even twang(y) and "through the nose." I LOVE IT. I know better than to hope it'll come back. Because: it can NEVER be improved upon. I can live very well with what I've got. I've never seen the first thing bad written about him. He always seemed to be a very likable fella when I'd see him on TV (rarely), but we did use to get the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights on TV and the radio. And then there were the individual shows, like Porter, The Wilburn Brothers, and Hee Haw, etc, that he would be on.