Rating:
Genre:
Country
Release Date: 06/22/2004
Though little-known today,
Pee Wee King was a bandleader who helped modernize
country music by adding electric instruments. Even more enduring, perhaps, is the fact that he helped write
"Tennessee Waltz." Biggest Hits/Country Barn Dance is a two-fer from
RCA's back catalog, and offers a good snapshot of
King's popular style of
Western swing. Unlike
Bob Wills (at least on these recordings),
King seems more than happy to take the middle road by combining a smooth vocalist with standard arrangements. On
Country Barn Dance,
Redd Stewart offers attractive versions of
"Backward Turn Backward" and
"Changing Partners," while the band -- relying on fiddles, accordion, and piano -- specializes in smooth
waltzes.
Biggest Hits offers a more varied package, with solid versions of
"Slow Poke" and
"Tennessee Waltz." There's also a rather odd
country take on
"Blue Suede Shoes" that at least shows the impact that
rock & roll had on
country in the mid- '50s. There are a number of truly inspired moments on this collection for
Western swing fans, as with the steel guitar solo on
"Last Night on the Back Porch (I Loved Her Best of All)." For
Western swing and
polka fans,
Pee Wee King's Greatest Hits/Country Barn Dance is a great 50-minute blast from the past.
~Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide
;)
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