The Unreleased Recordings: Gospel Keepsakes [PA]

Performer: Hank Williams
Producer: Colin Escott (Compilation); F. Keith Adkinson (Compilation); Jett Williams (Compilation); Mike Jason (Compilation); Colin Escott (Reissue)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Audio Remasterer: Joseph M. Palmaccio. Liner Note Author: Colin Escott. Released as a companion piece to the three-disc box, THE UNRELEASED RECORDINGS, GOSPEL KEEPSAKES (like the box) focuses on Hank Williams's stint on a WSM morning show sponsored by Mother's Best Flour company in 1951, a series of shows that found him loose, good-humored, and reaching deep into his repertoire. The country icon bookended each show with dusted-off gospel chestnuts--most of which feature the three-part harmonies of his backing group, the Drifting Cowboys, who rarely sang on his records. While his legend remains synonymous with the rowdier side of country music, Hank reminds us that he was one heck of a gospel singer, as his trademark saw-toothed timbre reveals the same yearning ache in devotional songs that it did in lovelorn ones. Songs like "I Heard My Savior Calling Me" and "Drifting Too Far From the Shore" become tremulously alive in the hands of a man veritably surrounded--and eventually done in by--the temptations of the material world. With the exception of the previously unreleased gems "Thirty Pieces of Silver," "Farther Along," and a rousing version of "I Saw the Light," most tracks already appear on box sets. Despite the overlap, the collection works perfectly for country gospel fans (who could do without the secular tunes) or for Williams completists. Hank Williams is one of those recording artists who ended up releasing more material after his death (in 1953) than he did before it, and since he regularly performed on various radio shows throughout his brief career, transcriptions of these performances keep popping up. The performances collected here were drawn from radio shows Williams did in 1951 for Mother's Best Flour. He would usually end his segment on the show with a gospel song or a spiritual, and several of these are combined here to make an interesting alternate portrait of Williams, one that reveals a childhood spent listening to his mother Lillie, a single parent and Williams' only real anchor, play hymns at the organ while he sat beside her. Williams' songwriting style, with its easy to remember melodies and unadorned but often elegantly structured lyrics, stems directly from the organ spirituals of his childhood. One of the best examples of this, his "I Saw the Light," is included here, along with Williams' takes on more traditional gospel material and one other Williams-penned song, the delightful "I'm Gonna Sing." It's not honky tonk. It's what you sing the next day. ~ Steve Leggett

The Robert Johnson of country, Hank Williams was a troubled visionary who hung around just long enough to change the face of American music forever. He added electric instruments and touches of Western swing and proto-rockabilly to the post-hillbilly sound of his idol Roy Acuff, writing a wealth of unforgettable tunes along the way. In the late 1940s and early '50s, Williams rose to fame with a series of these chart-topping hits, including "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Hey, Good Lookin'." Though Williams' hard living caught up with him in 1953, his legacy lives on in his timeless songs and the legions of musicians he inspired.

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