SHAZAM

Buddha's 2001 release RCA Country Legends theoretically supplants the peerless 1991 collection Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line since it covers roughly the same time period, also spans two discs, and has many of the same songs. There is a big difference, however: this concentrates more on chart hits, which is part of the reason that it extends further into the '80s than the previous collection. That isn't inherently a bad thing since Waylon Jennings had many chart hits and many were terrific; indeed, this contains such seminal items as "Cedartown, Georgia," "Pretend I Never Happened," "You Can Have Her," "Can't You See," "The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)," and "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." Still, there are some great songs missing from that idiosyncratic collection, songs that give Jennings depth as an artist: "Nashville Rebel," "Love of the Common People," "Just to Satisfy You," "Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)," "Black Rose," "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean," "Honky Tonk Heroes," "Waymore's Blues," "T for Texas," and "It's Not Supposed to Be That Way." These are missed, but so are the songs not on Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line. Ideally, there would be a collection that covers all the territory -- the hits on RCA Country Legends and the album-oriented outlaw on Only Daddy -- but until that happens, both are effective introductions and essential parts of any country collection (hell, any collection of American music of the 20th century). Until then, choose which direction you'd prefer to follow when seeking an introduction, but be forewarned, it's a lot easier to find RCA Country Legends than the out of print Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi