Search - Ricky Skaggs :: Country Pride

Short but sweet

Sanpete | in Utah | 07/25/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a sampler of Ricky Skaggs' 1980s albums for Epic Records. There's at least one song from each studio album from that decade. Four were hit singles, including two Number One country hits, but this isn't a hits compilation. (There were more than enough hits to fill this CD.)



During the '80s Skaggs charged into Nashville with a new sound, a hybrid of bluegrass and traditional country with a little popular Nashville sound mixed in. His roots were in bluegrass, and he had just passed through Emmylou Harris's more traditional and rock-oriented Hot Band. He and more mainstream neotraditional artists like George Strait and Randy Travis breathed new life into Nashville.



The music here has a good striding or driving beat, Skaggs' tenor vocals, sometimes with close harmonies, bluegrass instruments in the mix, and often some hot instrumental passages by himself and others. This is a highly enjoyable compilation, its only fault being its length, at 34 minutes. (Well, and the sound level varies a little between some of the songs, which otherwise sound great.) There are fuller CDs out there, but if you find a good price on this, it's a lot of fun.



The CD cover doesn't say much, so here's where each song is from and its peak on the country charts.



1. Highway 40 Blues (3:07) peaked at #1 in 1983, from Highways and Heartaches (1982)

2. A Wound Time Can't Erase (3:41) from Don't Cheat in Our Hometown (1983)

3. Sweet Temptation (3:43) from Favorite Country Songs (1985)

4. Lonesome For You (2:21) from Kentucky Thunder (1989)

5. San Antonio Rose (4:07) from Comin' Home to Stay (1987)

6. Window Up Above (3:19) from Country Boy (1984)

7. I Don't Care (2:16) peaked at #1 in 1982, from Waitin' for the Sun to Shine (1981)

8. One Way Rider (5:24) from Highways and Heartaches (1982)

9. I Wonder If I Care As Much (3:09) peaked at #30 in 1987, from Love's Gonna Get Ya (1986)

10. Let It Be You (2:40) peaked at #5 in 1989, from Kentucky Thunder (1989)"