The Very Best of Wynn Stewart & Jan Howard

Product Description:
Features the complete duets of Wynn Stewart and Jan Howard

Wynn Stewart was one of the leading figures of West Coast country music, developing in the early ‘50s the style that would later become known as the Bakersfield sound. Jan Howard was one of the hottest female vocalists in country music, often referred to as one of the "Grand Ladies" of the Grand Ole Opry.

Together and separately, they cut a string of hits in the early ’60s that is the basis for this unique collection of hits and rarities.

The Very Best of Wynn Stewart & Jan Howard,Wynn Stewart & Jan Howard,Varese Records,Bakersfield Sound,Country,Honky Tonk,Pop,Traditional Country

Average customer rating: early California Country Good old country! not what I expected What A Voice Stellar intro to a primary architect of the west coast sound

The Very Best of Wynn Stewart 1958-62 Wynn Stewart Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Honky-Tonk | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Greatest Honky-Tonk Hits After the Storm The Best of Stonewall Jackson The Essential Carl Smith (1950-1956) RCA Country Legends ASIN: B00005K9R5 Release Date: 2001-06-05

Tracks:

1. Come On
2. The Long Black Limousine
3. How The Other Half Lives
4. Above And Beyond (The Call Of Love)
5. Wishful Thinking
6. Wrong Company
7. Heartaches For A Dime
8. Playboy
9. Big City
10. If You See My Baby
11. Big, Big Love
12. I Don't Feel At Home
13. One Way To Go
14. Falling For You
15. Three Cheers For The Loser
16. Couples Only
17. Another Day, Another Dollar
18. Don't Look Back

Customer Reviews:

early California Country.......2005-12-26

Here's the guy that kicked off the California Country sound. You can hear Wynn's influence not only in Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, but moreso, in Dwight Yoakam! In fact, Dwight covered Wynn's fine hit "Playboy". Included in this collection, are "Long Black Limousine" (a song covered by both Lefty and Keith Whitley) and "Above and Beyond" (A Buck Owens covered hit). Also, the duet with Jan Howard, "How the Other Half Lives" and "Wrong Company", will rival any duet Conway & Loretta or George & Tammy ever put together. This album is absolute pure honky-tonk with the finest fiddle sound to ever come out of your speakers (one listen to "Wishful Thinking" and you'll agree). If you like the Bakersfield Sound, you owe it to yourself to get this one. A+

Good old country!.......2003-07-30

This is a pretty solid little record that serves as a good intro to the music of Wynn Stewart. The songs are all top-notch old school country that would sound right at home in a little smoke-filled bar. The production is a little slick on some of the tracks giving them a less gritty, pop feel. However, the song "Come On" is a great rock-a-billy stomper and "Wishful Thinking" will have you cryin' out to a long lost love! This CD is a great addition to a classic country fan's music collection and is right at home with stuff like Faron Young and Johnny Cash.

not what I expected.......2001-10-11

Wynn's voice is good, but as I like Rockabilly not Western I did not like this CD,"come on" was the one and only track I liked. Sorry Wynn not my style.

What A Voice.......2001-08-08

One country music's best voices. Wynn is in the roll call with Lefty, George Jones, and Merle. He also laid the chunk for the Bakersfield sound. A few songs into this CD and you'll know where Merle and Buck got their major influence. I can't wait for the best of '63 through '75.

Stellar intro to a primary architect of the west coast sound.......2001-06-26

Along with Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, Wynn Stewart shares credit for creating the west coast country sound. Harder hitting than the direction Nashville was taking at the time, and with some sting in the electric guitars, the west coast sound planted the seeds for later country-rock marriages and any number of alt.country roots revivals. Bakersfield contemporaries (including Owens and Haggard), as well as Dwight Yoakam, k.d. lang, Nick Lowe and Roger Wallace have all taken cues from Stewart.

Stewart's sound, especially his singing, had a drama that neither Owens or Haggard matched. From his earliest rockabilly work (represented here by 1958's "Come On") to fiddle-and-harmony driven weepers ("How the Other Half Lives," a duet with Jan Howard, "Wishful Thinking," and others), and country pop ("Above and Beyond (The Call of Love)" - a hit for Buck Owens on the tails of this original waxing), Stewart ranges over a variety of styles and emotions with incredible ease.

Though his chart success was sporadic, the brilliance of his recordings were anything but. The tracks here represent only a sampling (but a well-picked sampling) of the riches in his catalog. Selected from a five year period ('58-'62) during which he recorded for Challenge and Jackpot, these eighteen cuts serve as an excellent (and affordable) introduction to Stewart's work. Newly penned liner notes and vintage photos provide a brief biography. For the full story (including his later #1 hit, "It's Such a Pretty World Today," and a comprehensive biography), Bear Family's 10-disc, career complete, "Wishful Thinking" box set is the ticket.

Single disc or box set, Stewart's music is essential listening for anyone interested in honky-tonk and the west coast country sound.

Average customer rating: Stellar selection of early-60s California hard country

The Very Best of Wynn Stewart & Jan Howard Wynn Stewart & Jan Howard Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Honky-Tonk | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music Similar Items: First Ladies of Country A Family Affair The Very Best of Nat Stuckey Greatest Honky-Tonk Hits The Very Best of Wynn Stewart 1958-62 ASIN: B0002KQOJ4 Release Date: 2004-08-10

Tracks:

1. Wrong Company
2. Well Never Love Again
3. Wishful Thinking - Wynn Stewart
4. A World I Cant Live In - Jan Howard
5. The One You Slip Around With - Jan Howard
6. Faded Love - Jan Howard
7. Above And Beyond (The Call Of Love) - Wynn Stewart
8. How The Other Half Lives
9. Make An Honest Woman Out Of Me - Jan Howard
10. Too Many Teardrops Too Late - Jan Howard
11. Playboy - Wynn Stewart
12. Big, Big Love - Wynn Stewart
13. Yankee Go Home
14. Let Me Know - Jan Howard
15. Ages and Ages Ago - Jan Howard
16. Uncle Tom Got Caught - Wynn Stewart
17. Bring It On Back To Me - Jan Howard
18. Heartaches For A Dime - Wynn Stewart

Album Description

Features the complete duets of Wynn Stewart and Jan Howard

Wynn Stewart was one of the leading figures of West Coast country music, developing in the early `50s the style that would later become known as the Bakersfield sound. Jan Howard was one of the hottest female vocalists in country music, often referred to as one of the "Grand Ladies" of the Grand Ole Opry.

Together and separately, they cut a string of hits in the early '60s that is the basis for this unique collection of hits and rarities.

Customer Reviews:

Stellar selection of early-60s California hard country.......2004-08-31

Varese continues to fruitfully mine the masters of Challenge and Jackpot records, augmenting their previous Wynn Stewart collection with this volume of work by Stewart and Jan Howard. Although the track list duplicates several cuts from the earlier collection, the addition of three more Stewart-Howard duets and Howard's solo sides really fleshes out their work from this seminal period of California country music.

Stewart and Howard were introduced through Stewart's friend, and Howard's husband, songwriter Harlan Howard. Jan Howard's work singing demos for her husband and his songwriting pals (Buck Owens, Hank Cochran, and others) quickly blossomed into a career that included several fine duets with Stewart, as well as numerous charting solo singles. The four duets balance Stewart's dramatic delivery with Howard's more level-headed accompaniment, creating the sort of dynamic a real-life husband and wife might share. The call-and-response of "Wrong Company" plays Stewart's sad-sack sorrow against Howard's scolding reminder, and the harmonious singing of "We'll Never Love Again" and "How the Other Half Lives" provide cruel contrasts to the lyrics of broken love.

Like their duets, both artists' solo sides hung tight to the fiddle and steel sound that Nashville was smoothing over in the early '60s. Stewart waxed some of the finest hard-country singles of the era, including icons like "Wishful Thinking," "Playboy," "Big, Big Love" and "Heartaches for a Dime." Howard could sing to a twangy honky-tonk backing too, with singles like "The One You Slip Around With" and "Too Many Teardrops Too Late" being prime examples. More often though, Howard sang ballads, including steel-lined weepers like "Ages and Ages Ago" and piano-backed heartbreak like "A World I Can't Live In" and "Make an Honest Woman Out of Me." Both Stewart and Howard picked up the beat to near rock 'n' roll once in awhile, with the former's "Uncle Tom Got Caught" featuring a fine Bo Diddley beat, and the latter's "Bring it on Back to Me" set to a superb blues-rockin' sound.

Deeper helpings of Stewart and Howard are available separately, but one could barely ask for a better introduction to their charms, and the power of California country music's rebuttal to the Nashville Sound. (Collector's note, tracks 6, 10, 14, and 15 are in true stereo.)

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