Hillbilly Bebop
Mason Williams | Mars | 12/31/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The novelty soaked Western swing of Hank Penny has been fairly well laid down on CD between a pair of transcription packages and Westside's reissue of his classic King recordings. King of Hillbilly Bebop doubles the fun with two discs containing a total of 50 recordings at an el cheap-o price. The set begins with Penny's late-'30s recordings for Vocalion and Okeh, then whoops and womps through a selection of his King sides from the '40s (including his three hits, "Steel Guitar Stomp," "Get Yourself a Red Head," and "Bloodshot Eyes"), and finishes up with ten of his RCA recordings from the early '50s. The early cuts lean toward yee-haw hokum blues songs about hot mamas and papas, while the later tracks show off his blistering hillbilly jazz sicko side with instrumentals like "Penny Blows His Top" and "Hillbilly Be-Bop." Penny played with a number of talented musicians - Merle Travis, Noel Boggs, Zeke Turner, Speedy West, & Billy Strange whose talents are displayed throughout on the instrumental shenanigans. Despite the musicianship of Penny's band and their interest in pushing the envelope, most of the cuts keep themselves mainstream via Penny's humorous vocal performances. The King material offered here doesn't overlap enough with the Westside anthology to discourage fans from buying both.
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An little-known treasure
Mark Clark | Baltimore | 01/16/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This wonderful double CD introduced me to Hank Penny. As a western swing fan, I thought I'd heard it all, but Hank Penny's edgy, hard drivin' music took me places I'd never been in this genre. His smooth vocals lend the smart, often hilarious lyrics just the right amount of irony. The musicians are all first rate; from Noel Boggs to Speedy West and Merle Travis and the early 50's numbers like "Hadicillin Boogie" show that Hank was one of that elite group of musicians who anticipated the coming of rock 'n' roll."
A great unknown
Jess | Coal Country, PA | 12/28/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Here's another 'little known' or nearly-forgotten artist that deserves his own corner of country music heaven. This is a two CD set (50 songs) offered by Proper Records. The recordings all appear to be original; in fact, some may say too original, as a few of the early numbers come complete with scratches, fuzziness, and echoes of early studio. BUT, this is an absolute treasure trove of unique country swing. I'm not sure how you'd label Hank's style, but it is not western swing (although it relies heavily on the sound made famous by Bob Wills); it is not pure country (although it relies heavily on traditional hillbilly/honky-tonk. I guess that's why it's called Hillbilly Bebop! The first CD is very heavily loaded with standard, old-time swing, complete with rhythm guitar, strong bass, and fiddles....but also includes clarinet (reflections of Glen Miller)! The second CD is more "country" and less western, and contains some of the finest songs ever released in the late 1940's/early '50's. This is not today's PC country, and most of the songs will have you not only singing along, but chuckling as well. The hit list includes: "Get Yourself a Redhead"; "My Inlaws Made an Outlaw Out of Me"; "Catch 'em Young, Treat 'em Rough, Tell 'em Nothing", and "White Shotgun". I doubt you'll hear any of these songs being heralded at a NOW convention. A+"
Track Listings (25) - Disc #1
