Notes & Personnel Info |  | Liner Note Author: Scott Schinder. | | Although younger country music fans likely know Bill Anderson primarily for his work as a game-show host on CMT in the 1980s and '90s, the veteran singer-songwriter was a consistent hitmaker for nearly two decades. Though he never crossed over to the pop charts--1963's "Still," included here, was his sole Top 40 pop hit--the 12 songs on this disc--from 1960's "The Tips of My Fingers" to the 1976 duet with Mary Lou Turner, "Sometimes"--feature some of the finest pure-country singles of their era. Anderson's mellow vocal style and genial, easy-going delivery made him something of a country Perry Como, particularly suited for romantic ballads like "8x10" and "World of Make Believe." | | For anyone wondering why MCA Nashville/Decca, which issued a Bill Anderson compilation called The Definitive Collection in June 2006, would issue another Anderson compilation, this one a best-of in parent company Universal Music's 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection series, only one month later, the answer is simple, at least in record company terms. The Definitive Collection has 20 tracks and a list price of $13.98; this album has 12 tracks and a list price of $9.95. (What retail outlets may charge is another matter entirely, of course.) The record label assumes that the two discs will appeal to different levels of fandom. (Universal also has a compilation series called Gold, which consists of two-disc sets, but as of July 2006 there was no Bill Anderson album in it yet.) That's why all of the songs on this album are also on The Definitive Collection. Among the tracks that have been removed are, for the most part, hits not quite as big as the ones that remain, although one of Anderson's chart-toppers, "Mama Sang a Song," is among the casualties. Still, what's left is choice: following Anderson's breakthrough Top Ten hit, "The Tip of My Fingers," the other 11 tracks all hit number one or number two in Billboard's country singles charts. That may be enough for his most casual fans. If it isn't, there's The Definitive Collection, with two-thirds more material at a 40 percent higher price. ~ William Ruhlmann |
Musical Guests | | Jan Howard | | Mary Lou Turner |
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