Hank Williams Sr. - Live At The Grand Ole Opry (2 Discs)




Of course no one needs to ask if DaddyRich loves Hank Sr. - He was among my first posts and is still listened to here with great regularity. I may be perhaps striving to make up for all my wayward younger years in which I scoffed at the idea of the man and his music. Regardless, I have made up for lost time and am now in the possession of quite a large collection of his music. With his passing at such a young age - him and the age of modern recording technologies, the concerts that are available are of woefully pitiable quality most often. This collection about represents the pinnacle of quality we could ever likely expect to hear from the great voice of Hank Sr. More from the interwebs...


" As the single most important artist in country music, Hank Williams bears a discography whose every element is of extreme historical import. While he recorded prolifically, live Williams records are decidedly in the minority. Before the 1999 release of LIVE AT THE GRAND OLE OPRY, the Health and Happiness radio shows and a few stray cuts here and there were all the public had access to in terms of live Hank. Like the Health and Happiness release, this album is taken from radio transcriptions. The context these shows provide--Hank trades quips with Minnie Pearl and a host of comedians, and engages in plenty of aural glad-handing with the host and audience--makes the unadorned longing in Hank's voice and songs all the more striking. Listening to him detail (though not without humor) his miserable state on "Nobody's Lonesome For Me" while an enthusiastic audience happily claps along, adds an extra ironic edge to the already harrowing musical experience. LIVE AT THE GRAND OLE OPRY shows that Williams was a unique combination of happy-faced showman and broken-hearted troubadour, a man who could make people smile with a cry in his voice."

And please ignore the comedy routines, they are just awful.


DISC 1:
1. Lovesick Blues
2. Wedding Bells - (previously unreleased)
3. You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)
4. Why Don't You Love Me - (previously unreleased)
5. Comedy With Hank Williams, Red Foley And Minnie Pearl
6. They'll Never Take Her Love From Me
7. Moanin' The Blues - (previously unreleased)
8. Nobody's Lonesome For Me - (previously unreleased)
9. Dear John
10. Cold, Cold Heart - (previously unreleased)
11. Hey Good Lookin'
12. Honky Tonk Blues
13. Let The Spirit Descend
14. Baby, We're Really In Love
15. Comedy With Hank Williams And Rod Brasfield - (previously unreleased)
16. Old Country Church, The
17. I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You) - (previously unreleased)
18. Jambalaya (On The Bayou) - (previously unreleased)
19. Half As Much - (previously unreleased)
20. Window Shopping - (previously unreleased)
21. Long Gone Lonesome Blues - (previously unreleased)


DISC 2: COMPLETE ARMED FORCES RADIO SHOW 116 (2/18/50):

1. Aunt Jemima's Plaster - (previously unreleased, with Red Foley)
2. Lead Me To That Rock - (previously unreleased, with Wally Fowler & The Oak Ridge Quartet)
3. I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Livin'
4. Comedy With Minnie Pearl
5. Lord, I'm Coming Home - (previously unreleased, with Red Foley)
6. Oh, You Beautiful Doll - (previously unreleased, with Claude Sharpe & The Old Hickory Singers)
7. Comedy With Jamup & Honey - (previously unreleased)
8. Lovesick Blues - (previously unreleased)
9. You Ain't Got Faith - (previously unreleased, with Wally Fowler & The Oak Ridge Quartet)
10. Church Music - (previously unreleased, with Red Foley)



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