Post Description

There have been plenty of Porter Wagoner compilations released over the years, but Real Gone Music's 2016 double-disc set The Definitive Collection is the only collection to dig deeply into Wagoner's solo career. Certainly there has been no shortage of Wagoner CDs -- usually budget-line quickies, plus a complete box of his work with Dolly Parton from Bear Family, a pair of a single CDs from RCA highlighted by 2002's RCA Country Legends, and a host of conceptual compilations such as The Rubber Room, issued in 2006 by Omni. Wagoner certainly had a gothic streak so melodramatic it bordered on kitsch, but the last decade of reissues from Omni and Bear Family -- who played up Wagoner's dark side through their triple-disc The Cold Hard Facts of Life -- tended to emphasize this trend over Wagoner's actual hits, which is what The Definitive Collection puts back into the equation. Over the course of 40 songs, almost all of the big hits he had between 1954's "Company's Comin'" and 1974's "Highway Headin' South" are here -- the exceptions are the duets with Norma Jean and Dolly Parton, of course -- and what's striking is how the darker moments feted retroactively are balanced by lighter, livelier moments like "Big Wind" or simple roadhouse ballads like "Turn the Jukebox Up Louder." The result is a richer portrait of Wagoner, one that shows why he was an Opry favorite: he may have indulged in heated tragedy but he was also an entertainer and these sides are showcased on this, the best compilation ever assembled on this seminal Nashville star.

Artist: Porter Wagoner
Title: The Definitive Collection
Year Of Release: 2016
Label: Real Gone Music
Genre: Country
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue, log)
Total Time: 104:43 min
Total Size: 587 MB


Tracklist:

Disc: 1
1. Howdy Neighbor, Howdy
2. Trademark
3. Company's Comin'
4. A Satisfied Mind
5. Eat, Drink and Be Merry (Tomorrow You'll Cry)
6. What Would You Do (If Jesus Came to Your House)
7. Uncle Pen
8. Tryin' to Forget the Blues
9. A Good Time Was Had by All
10. MIdnight
11. I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name
12. Legend of the Big Steeple
13. Your Old Love Letters
14. Everything She Touches Gets the Blues
15. Misery Loves Company
16. Cold Dark Waters
17. I've Enjoyed as Much of This as I Can Stand
18. Sorrow on the Rocks
19. The Life of the Party
20. I'll Go Down Swinging

Disc: 2
1. Y'all Come
2. Green, Green Grass of Home
3. Skid Row Joe
4. Confessions of a Broken Man
5. I Just Came to Smell the Flowers
6. Soul of a Convict
7. The Cold Hard Facts of Life
8. The First Mrs. Jones
9. Julie
10. Woman Hungry
11. Turn the Jukebox Up Louder
12. Pastor's Absent on Vacation
13. The Carroll County Accident
14. Big Wind
15. When You're Hot You're Hot
16. You Got-Ta Have a License
17. The Last One to Touch Me
18. The Rubber Room
19. What Ain't to Be, Just Might Happen
20. Highway Headin' South