Rating:
Genre:
Country
Release Date: 02/11/2003
When
Faron Young left
Capitol in 1962 after the expiration of his contract, he had, in ten years, racked 41 Top 40
country hits. Beginning in 1963, with a strange knockoff of
Marty Robbins'
"El Paso," Young began a run of 39 more hits for
Mercury over the next 12 years. In 22 years,
Young had scored a total of 80
country hits -- all but one in the Top 40. This set of
Mercury material may not be as raw and hillbilly as the earlier
Capitol stuff, but it does sound a bit more woolly than his final
Capitol sides.
Countrypolitan was all the rage in the 1960s, and remained so until
outlaw music made its mark on the charts in 1974.
Young, continuing to write his own songs and record only the choicest by other composers, offered a different voice than his early
Hank Williams-inflected one. His baritone was rich and warm and full of sentiment and dreamy texture, as can be heard on
"Yellow Bandana," "You'll Drive Me Back (Into Her Arms Again)," "This Little Girl of Mine," and
"She Went a Bit Farther," as well as
honky tonk stompers such as
"Wine Me Up," "It's Four in the Morning," "Keeping Up With the Joneses" with
Margie Singleton,
"Here I Am in Dallas," and
"Your Time's Comin'." Young never completely lost the hard
country edge in his sound, despite the layers of strings and backing vocalists. His delivery remained passionate, direct, and soulful. And while this material may not have the raw punch some of the other music did, it has a breadth and depth few
country singers with the possible exception of
Robbins and
Ray Price could get next to, let alone copy. This is an excellent representation of
Young's time spent with
Mercury, and for novices who are curious,
The Complete Capitol Hits of Faron Young on
Collector's Choice and this 24-track volume will provide virtually everything you will ever need.
~Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
;)
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