Search - Ernest Tubb :: Last Sessions: All Time Greatest Hits

GREAT... FOR COMPLETISTS

Anton Garcia Fernandez | Vigo, Spain | 10/28/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If anyone is thinking about this two-CD collection as a perfect introduction to Ernest Tubb's classic recordings, then they are wrong. True, it includes a good deal of songs and almost all of his greatest hits. Yet, these are not the original versions, but re-recordings made in the late 70s and early 80s, a few years before the Texas Troubadour's death in 1984. For a real introduction to Tubb's greatest hits, it is much better to get ASV's "Early Hits of the Texas Troubadour" or --even though this is a much more expensive option-- Bear Family's extremely comprehensive boxsets that cover most of his career.Yet, this is a remarkable collection, inasmuch as it includes Tubb's last sessions. Even though he was in his late sixties by the time he made these recordings, Tubb is still in great form, and the sound is very good. Moreover, he performs some more obscure songs apart from his hits, which makes the album even more interesting. Even though the CD features no sessionography (it offers no booklet, for that matter), Ernest is accompanied here by some of the best Nashville session musicians of the time (if anyone is wondering how I know that without any personnel info, then I will say that Tubb himself shouts out their names from time to time while they are performing an instrumental solo during a song). Melba Montgomery also joins him on a jumping version of the classic honky-tonk song "Sweet Thang."So, this is a good pick for any serious country music fan, but it is indispensable for completists and Tubb aficionados."

Texas Troubadour

Howard | Montana | 01/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To me, the later recordings of Ernest Tubb were far better than the early ones. I owned this on cassettes and now that we are into CD'S, I had to order it again."

Ernest Tubb, elder statesman

Paul W. Dennis | Winter Springs, FL USA | 05/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This collection represents an effort by Pete Drake to make Tubb's hits available, after MCA/Decca had lost interest in Tubb and let almost his entire catalogue slide out of print. Tubb's voice is weathered and aged, and the band isn't as good as Tubb's mid 60s unit. That said, Ernest Tubb was never Caruso anyway. Tubb's strength was his warm personality and the character in his voice, both of which continued to shine through in his vocals. This is a worthwhile collection that any Tubb fan will want to own. If some of the recordings sound excessively familiar,it is because many of these recordings were overdubbed with guest stars for an Ernest Tubb tribute album. Almost all the classic songs are here, and Tubb fans will be singing along with the CD player"