BGO Records have just released a box set of four Conway Twitty albums, entitled Conway Twitty: Hello Darlin’ / Fifteen Years Ago / How Much More Can She Stand / I Wonder What She’ll Think About Me Leaving.
I have previously reviewed each of the included albums individually, talking about the full contents of each more comprehensively. You can find these here if you would extra detail on each:
I Wonder What She’ll Think About Me Leaving.
However, as an overview of all four albums, I find this set represents the time when Twitty’s country career was really breaking out. He had previously seen great success in rock and roll. But these albums demonstrate amply why country music was such a fertile ground for him. His songwriting voice is evident with tracks such as the hit Hello Darlin’, but also with lesser-known tracks such as Up Comes The Bottle (Down Goes The Man) and Let Me Be The Judge.
I personally like country music with energy, whether it be heavy heartbreak or peppy driving rhythm with power and fire in the vocals. Twitty delivers these things in spades over these four albums. My favourite tracks from the 42 included in this set demonstrate all these qualities. Such as Everyday Family Man, Amos Moses, You and Your Sweet Love and I’ll Come Running. Other highlights include Help Me Make it Through the Night, because Conway’s voice caresses you as you listen. Dolly Parton’s The Last One To Touch Me is also great, but after all – when doesn’t Parton’s writing produce a faultless song?
Conway’s ability to take a song and make it his own is also in evidence here. By the time that the album Hello Darlin’ was released in 1970, his country style had taken its own distinctive shape. It could be applied to any song, even well-known ones. Some of the covers here are surprising, but work well. A song like Jerry Reed’s Amos Moses shouldn’t work for anyone else. But Conway does a good job. It is well produced, including the same bassist who performed on the Reed version, Bob Moore. A cover of Faron Young’s Wine Me Up also manages to deliver the requisite amount of bounce.
Sound Quality & Extra Features
The remastered sound here has such pleasing clarity without compromising the feeling of the music. Every element of the recordings has life and depth.
The booklet included adds value to the listening experience with its biography of Conway by John O’Regan. Also included in the booklet are the original liner notes from three of the four albums, which is very welcome for anyone who may not own the original vinyl releases.
Track listing
Disc One
- Rocky Top
- I’ll Get Over Losing You
- Up Comes The Bottle (Down Goes The Man)
- You And Your Sweet Love
- Will You Visit Me On Sunday
- Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
- Reuben James
- I Never Once Stopped Loving You
- Rose
- I’m So Used To Loving You
- Hello Darlin’
- Hey! Baby
- Fifteen Years Ago
- Back Street Affair
- I Can’t Believe That You’ve Stopped Loving Me
- Slowly
- Sand Covered Angels
- She Can Only See The Good In Me
- I’ll Come Running
- Darling Days
- A Little Girl Cried
- Wild Mountain Rose
Disc Two
- How Much More Can She Stand
- Everyday Family Man
- Help Me Make It Through The Night
- Just Like A Stranger
- The Last One To Touch Me
- Amos Moses
- The Memory of Your Sweet Love
- Let Me Be The Judge
- Hank Williams Medley: Cold, Cold Heart / I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You) / You Win Again / They’ll Never Take Her Love From Me / Wedding Bells / Take These Chains From My Heart / Your Cheatin’ Heart
- I Wonder What She’ll Think About Me Leaving
- Wine Me Up
- I’d Rather Love You
- My Heart Won’t Listen To My Mind
- I Fall To Pieces
- Heartache Just Walked In
- Joy To The World
- Who’ll Turn Out The Lights (In Your World Tonight)
- A Letter And A Ring
- One More Time
- My Love For You Is Stronger (Than The Weakness In Me)
In Conclusion
For fans of country music of this particular vintage, this is a nice set. For the dedicated–or even casual–fan of Conway Twitty, this is a must-have released. When much of Twitty’s output is not available via streaming platforms such as Spotify, to have access to albums in their full form like this is very welcome indeed. It allows room to showcase all aspects of his style and capabilities, rather than being pigeonholed by a few well-known songs which achieved a high chart position upon initial release.
This set offers good value and great music. It is also great value for the price. I thoroughly recommend it and it gets a big thumbs-up from me.
CONWAY TWITTY – Hello Darlin’ / Fifteen Years Ago / How Much More Can She Stand / I Wonder What She’ll Think About Me Leaving is now available from BGO Records.
CONWAY TWITTY - Hello Darlin’ / Fifteen Years Ago / How Much More Can She Stand / I Wonder What She’ll Think About Me Leaving
£11.99
