A good introduction to his music
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 11/17/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Whether this British collection really is the best of Marty's music is doubtful but it does showcase the diversity of his music and everything here is of a high quality. Marty recorded several different types of music including rock'n'roll, cowboy music, classic pop ballads, mainstream country and Hawaiian music. All of them are represented here so you can easily make up your own mind what you like best.
In the fifties, he achieved some success in rock'n'roll, particularly with Singing the blues, which gave him an American top twenty hit. Guy Mitchell, a friend of Marty's, originally refused to record the song but did so once Marty's version had dropped out of the charts. Guy took the song to the very top of the American pop charts. In the UK, Guy's version had to compete with a local version by Tommy Steele but both versions went to number one, taking turns at the top. Marty's version didn't chart (maybe wasn't released as a single) in the UK.
Marty also had success in the American pop charts with pop ballads such as Story of my life. Again, none of these songs gave him a UK hit in the fifties though Story of my life gave Michael Holliday (an easy-listening pop singer from Liverpool) a number one UK hit. In the sixties, he had his biggest UK hit with Devil woman, which made the top five. Note - do not confuse this song with a completely different song of the same title by Cliff Richard.
Marty achieved his greatest success with cowboy songs, most notably El Paso, which gave him his first UK hit (it made the top twenty) as well as being a huge American hit. It is the song for which he is best remembered on both sides of the Atlantic.
Marty wrote and hit a country hit with You gave me a mountain, later covered by Elvis Presley. On this set, you get Marty's original as well as his covers of a couple of Elvis' songs (Love me tender, Can't help falling in love).
If you are new to Marty's music, this collection provides a little of everything he did including all four of his UK pop hits (El Paso, Big iron, Devil woman, Ruby Ann). Nevertheless, before you buy this, you might consider buying the double-CD Essential instead of this. It covers his career in much greater depth and includes all his important American pop and country hits."
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1