King Of The Road: The Genius Of Roger Miller [Box set]

Amazon.com
Comedy gets no respect. If Merle Haggard sums up the dilemma of the American working class from the hard-bitten perspective of "Mama Tried" or "The Bottle Let Me Down," he's called a blue-collar poet. If Roger Miller captures the same predicament from the warped, comic perspective of "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd," he's dismissed as a novelty writer. And yet, a great comic song is just as hard to write as a serious one and sheds just as much light on its subject. Nashville has been home to some gifted comic songwriters over the years--Tom T. Hall, Shel Silverstein, John Prine, and so on--but Miller was the best of the bunch and, as such, one of the best songwriters country music has ever known. He's finally getting some overdue respect with the release of a three-CD anthology, King of the Road: The Genius of Roger Miller. Almost everyone is aware of "King of the Road," the shining pinnacle of Miller's career and one of the most perfect country songs ever written. Many of us remember his brief moment in the sun in 1964-66, when he not only dominated the country charts but also put 10 songs in the pop top-40--including such top-10 hits as "Dang Me," "Chug-a-Lug," "King of the Road," "Engine Engine #9," and "England Swings." Exuberant, infectious comic classics one and all, but The Genius of Roger Miller reveals there was a lot more to this quirky artist than that. --Geoffrey Himes

Tracks:

My Pillow
Poor Little John
A Man Like Me
The Wrong Kind Of Girl
Jason Fleming
A World So Full Of Love
When A House Is Not Home
You Don't Want My Love
When Two Worlds Collide
Sorry, Willie
So Saith He The Lord
Lock Stock And Teardrops
Ain't That Fine
Less And Less (Original Version)
Chug-A -Lug
Lou's Got The Flu
The Moon Is High (And So Am I)
Dang Me
It Takes All Kinds To Make A World
Reincarnation
Hard Headed Me
Do Wacka Do
Atta Boy Girl
Our Hearts Will Play The Music

Tracks:

King Of The Road
As Long As There's A Shadow
You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd
Heartbreak Hotel
Big Harlan Taylor
One Dyin' And A-Buryin'
The Last Word In Lonesome Is Me
It Happened Just That Way
Engine #9
Kansas City Star
England Swings
I've Been A Long Time Leavin' (But I'll Be A Long Time Gone)
Husbands And Wives
Train Of Life
Dad Blame Anything A Man Can't Quit
You're My Kingdom
My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died
Home
Absence
Ruby (Don't Take Your Love To Town)
Walkin' In The Sunshine
A Million Years Or So
Pardon This Coffin

Tracks:

The Ballad Of Waterhole #3
Old Toy Trains
Little Green Apples
What I'd Give To Be The Wind
Boeing Boeing 707
Treat Me Like A Human (Outtake)
What Are Those Things (With Big Black Wings)
Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line
Swiss Cottage Place
Me And Bobbie McGee
Where Have All The Average People Gone
The Best Of All Possible Worlds
Invitation To The Blues
Tall, Tall Trees
Don't We All Have The Right
That's The Way I Feel
Half A Mind
Hoppy's Gone
What Would My Mama Say
Orange Blossom Special (Live Version)
Old Friends
Guv'ment (From Big River)
River In The Rain (From Big River)

Amazon.com

Comedy gets no respect. If Merle Haggard sums up the dilemma of the American working class from the hard-bitten perspective of "Mama Tried" or "The Bottle Let Me Down," he's called a blue-collar poet. If Roger Miller captures the same predicament from the warped, comic perspective of "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd," he's dismissed as a novelty writer. And yet, a great comic song is just as hard to write as a serious one and sheds just as much light on its subject. Nashville has been home to some gifted comic songwriters over the years--Tom T. Hall, Shel Silverstein, John Prine, and so on--but Miller was the best of the bunch and, as such, one of the best songwriters country music has ever known. He's finally getting some overdue respect with the release of a three-CD anthology, King of the Road: The Genius of Roger Miller. Almost everyone is aware of "King of the Road," the shining pinnacle of Miller's career and one of the most perfect country songs ever written. Many of us remember his brief moment in the sun in 1964-66, when he not only dominated the country charts but also put 10 songs in the pop top-40--including such top-10 hits as "Dang Me," "Chug-a-Lug," "King of the Road," "Engine Engine #9," and "England Swings." Exuberant, infectious comic classics one and all, but The Genius of Roger Miller reveals there was a lot more to this quirky artist than that. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

One disc too long.......2007-02-11

I can't call myself a Roger Miller connoisseur. I'm just someone who knew they liked "King of the Road" and "England Swings", borrowed the 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Roger Miller and liked just about all of it, and went looking for more. I can't claim to have heard all of Rog's output but if this box set encapsulates it, I'd say there's enough midrange and weak fare to balance out the truly stratospheric peaks.

HIGHS:
Besides de rigeur classics "King of the Road" and alcohol anthem "Chug-a-Lug", there's the inspired insanity of "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd", "Do Wacka Do", and "England Swings". Lest you believe Miller only capable of playing the jester, check out the deep heartbreak of "One Dyin' and a Buryin'" and "Husbands and Wives".

LOWS:
Disc 3 has a lot of cover songs and Miller isn't at his best doing other people's stuff. Not to say there aren't some great ones scattered in there, such as tender holiday offering "Little Toy Trains" or the everyday man philosophy expressed in "Where Have all the Average People Gone?" or lament "Hoppy's Gone". But the last disc is decidedly the weakest of the trio.

BOTTOM LINE:
Trimming this down to 2 CDs and packing them to the brim and adding in some of the missing Smash material others are complaining about (since the strongest material on here comes from 1964-1969) would probably serve Miller a bit better. This is still the best overview out there because even the better single CDs are missing some great material but I think 2 CDs would do the job adequately.

3 1/2 stars

Outstanding Collection.......2007-01-30

This Mercury Compilation is one of the finer box-sets I have come across (not including peerless Bear Family). Roger Miller is best known for his comedic numbers, such as "King of the Road", "Dang Me", and "Chug-a-Lug", all of which are included here. But this 3 CD set also includes a wealth of both earlier and later numbers that have been overshadowed by the "big" Roger Miller hits. This set goes back to 1957 and introduces us to a Roger Miller that sounded much more honky-tonk than 60's pop, with such songs as "A Man like Me".....these early songs are not at all unlike Ray Price! Then there's the crazy numbers of the late -60's, such as "My Uncle Used to Love Me but She Died" and his ode to smoking (which would kill him later in life) "Dad Blame Anything a Man Can't Quit". The last disc covers 1967 forward, including a great trio-number with Willie and Ray "Old Friends". Yes, there are other compilations out there, but this one really nails the comedic genius and slick wording of one of the greatest songwriters of any genre of music. The box set is a hard, book-style, case with a fine set of notes and discography (some great pics as well). Highly recommended. A+

Dad liked it, so it must be good........2007-01-11

I remembered a lot of these songs from my dad's old 8 track tapes, so when I saw this collection on CD, I thought that he would like it. He did, so if you are a Roger Miller fan, you probably will like to add this one to your collection.

Doo Wacka-Doo Wacka-Doo.......2006-11-21

"The Genius Of Roger Miller"!! the word "genius" used in the title of this three disc collection/anthology of songs written and recorded by the late great Roger Miller is no misnomer - the man was a creative musical genius.

Roger Miller spoiled me though . . . after hearing his songs and recordings and performances, very little of "today's country" (or of any other genre for that metter) measures up. Roger raised the bar so high that most others simply pass by beneath his talent and abilities.

Roger could make you laugh out loud . . . or cry . . . and sometime BOTH in the same song . . . he could enteratain but he was also a "humorist philospher" who's songs and lyrics and even 'aside remarks' could bring you down off your lofty ivory tower pedestal and make you realize our common humanity.

Roger sang of everyday lives and everyday events and everyday experiences in a not so everyday way of looking at them. He viewed the world and experiences and life from such a unique "eye" and perspective . . . and he knew how to laugh at the ridiculous found even in the most somber and even sad experiences met with through living.

Reading the liner notes to this collection it is so amazing to learn that many of these tracks might have been lost forever. Someone cleaning out the garage of a house they bought discovered these tins in a box there ready to be discarded as trash: they were "Master Tapes" of Roger's recordings. And so some of the tracks we get to hear and enjoy now on this collection were salvaged and saved and now preserved digitally for all time. Thank God for miraculous saves! :)

If you are a fan of roger Miller . . . if You perhaps only recently heard of Roger Miller . . .and even if you never before heard of Roger Miller, get this collection. You will meet and encounter the most interesting and creative singer/songwriter you will ever meet. And you will enjoy track after track after track of creative genius. You will laugh for sure . . . you will cry for certain . . . and you will thank yourself forever for taking advantage of the opportunity these recordings provide you to know "the genius of Roger Miller"

And thank YOU Roger Miller for all the great music and song . . . and for your most unique gift of humor. You are greatly missed.

The best Roger Miller collection available.......2006-10-16

This may not be the fully comprehensive collection that someone of Miller's stature deserves, but it's an excellent 70-track album that contains all the essentials. Attractively packaged, with a booklet of over 30 pages that includes some great photos, this would make a fine gift for any Miller fan.

It starts in 1957 with hard-country songs that Hank Snow might have recorded. It ends in 1986 with 2 tracks from his crowning achievement, the Broadway hit Big River. The mid-sixties were his finest years and many of his most memorable hits are to be found on disc 2. But it's all good.

Go for The All Time Greatest Hits album if you are sampling. Chances are you'll want to trade it in for this one.

Music Album:

Music Album