Headin' Down The Wrong Highway - The Early Albums ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED Set

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This 2 c.d. set is a real winner. I never knew anything about Hank Thompson, except something I read made me want to get something of his, and this is the one. It was cheap and arrived on time. What more do you want from a seller????

The audio quality of this set is quite good. No clicks, pops or scratches. The only defect is an almost silent hiss behind some of the tracks.Hank Thompson's voice is somewhat like that of Hank Snow, both having a long career in country music. Even though the voices are somewhat similar, I think Hank Thompson is a bit more mellow. The instrumental accompaniment for Hank Thompson is livelier and better acoustically than that of Hank Snow. The country swing backing adds more life than does the more traditional backing used by Hank Snow.Highly recommended for those who like either Hank Snow, Hank Thompson or old style country music in general.

I was so happy to find this double cd. My brother in law is the drummer. The 2nd cd is "Live From The Golden Nugget",they were the first country western band to play in Las Vegas. Hank Thompson's music is still being played today by young country music singers. I can close my eyes and see my brother in law playing.

Hank Thompson had a unique voice, and was an exceptional song writer.Grew up with his music, and especially liked his nursery rhyme songs.His music is real country western music, and so unique, especiallycompared to the overproduced, syrupy, country music on the chartstoday. When hearing Hank Thompson, you know his voice, and hisstyle. Today's music is hardly distinguishable between the singers,and monotonous because it all is produced the same, making itsound the same. thank goodness we have some really good musicto listen to that is so much better than today's.

I was raised on Western Swingand then I went country! Liked it for seven years, now I am back to swing!

Have always enjoyed Hank thompson. His voice is great

I WENT TO HANK THOMPSONS DANCES AT A YOUNG AGE IN OKC WITH MY OLDEST SISTER & HER HUSBAND. HE COULD JITTERBUG LIKE CRAZY & TAUGHT ME HOW TO HANK THOMPSONS BAND.

In 1960 I discovered the magnificently racy "Songs For Rounders" by Hank Thompson and The Brazos Valley Boys which had been released in the United States one year earlier. I was hooked and I'm delighted to find that the album has been reissued as part of a 2CD set containing four of his earliest albums.From the opening guitar chords of "Drunkard's Blues" and Hank's voice intoning "walking slow to the graveyard", to the swinging "Cocaine Blues" and the rocking "Deep Elm", (a reference to the red light district of Dallas") this was music the sound of which I'd never heard before. Even the album cover with its saloon girls, seemed deliciously decadent.What I didn't know then was that Hank Thompson had been recording since 1948 and that he'd created a musical style blending honky tonk with western swing. More than fifty years on the songs on this album still enthrall: "Rovin' Gambler", "Dry Bread" and "Bummin' Around" underpinned by piano, bass, guitar and drums. These provide a powerful rhythm section and the sound, with fiddles and electric guitar, sounds as fresh and dynamic today as it did then.This prompted me to seek out his 1958 release "Dance Ranch" with the BVB opening with the mesmerising Bob Willis instrumental "Beaumont Rag" with that solid bass, piano and a soaring jazz inspired trumpet. There are three other stunning instrumentals: Artie Shaw's "Summit Ridge Drive", Woody Herman's "Woodchoppers Ball" and the rousing "Beer Barrel Polka".Then there is the classic Bob Wills/Cindy Walker song "Bubbles In My Beer", the honky tonkin' "Lawdy What A Girl" and the heartache song "I Wouldn't Miss It For The World". This was a whole new world of music for me and one which I've never left. For a young man whose contemporaries were listening to Cliff Richard and Adam Faith this stuff was a revelation.Until the release of this set I'd never heard the other two albums - "This Broken Heart Of Mine" from 1960, and his live 1961 performance "Live At The Golden Nugget". The latter is from down town Las Vegas and features the mighty Merle Travis on lead guitar. The album is considered by many to be among Hank's finest and there is no denying that it is a very strong set and demonstrates his fusion of western swing and honky tonk to great advantage.Highlights include the rousing instrumentals "Orange Blossom Special and "Steel Guitar Rag"; a pair of sentimental ballads, "She's Just A Whole Lot Like You" and "Just One Step Away" plus the honky tonkin', drinking song "Six Pack To Go"."This Broken Heart Of Mine" is not as strong as the other two studio albums. It is a little less western swing and honky tonk and a little more sentimental balladry although this is a style at which he does excel. Check out the sad and haunting "She's A Girl Without Any Sweetheart" and the gorgeous "Soft Lips".This 2 CD set featuring four of Hank Thompson's earliest and best albums serves as a reminder of his innovative hard core honky tonk, western swing sound. His influence can be heard in the work of Asleep At The Wheel, Lyle Lovett, Ray Price, George Strait and Dwight Yoakam and is an essential buy for lovers of country music.