Original versions of Faron Young on Mercury!
L W Turner | Alexandria, LA, USA | 07/20/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This release from Mercury's short-lived "American Essentials" series fills a void in the reissuing of Young's work on the label. All thirteen songs are original versions of Top 10 hits (he had 17 for the label between 1963-1974) and there are no remakes of his vintage Capitol material from 1952-1962 (which can be found on the 24-cut Country Music Foundation's Faron Young CD, "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young", which is only available now at the Country Music Hall Of Fame, I believe). These two CD's together give a solid, comprehensive view of one of the best honky-tonk singers (and entrepreneurs) that Nashville has known. Personal highlights on tht "Golden Hits" disc include Faron's sorrowing renedition of "This Little Girl Of Mine", a great duet with Margie Singleton (Keeping Up With The Joneses), and his 1966 toe-tapper "Unmitigated Gall". Stay away from the Step One CD's unless you like 1980's remakes of his material. Also recommended over "The Hits" because of a better selection of Mercury material at the same price (and 2 more songs)."