Buck Owens Sings Tommy Collins

Product Description
Out of print for 30 years, Sundazed presents this reissue taken from the original masters, and stuffed with rare photos and complete sessionographies. This particular album was Buck's tribute to one of his songwriting heroes. Contains 12 tracks. 1997 Sundazed reissue of 1963 Capitol album.

Tracks:

If You Ain't Lovin' You Ain't Livin'
But I Do
It Tickles
I Always Get A Souvinir
My Last Chance With You
Smooth Sailin'
You Gotta Have A License
High On A Hilltop
There'll Be No Other
Whatcha Gonna Do Now?
No Love Have I
Down, Down, Down

Album Description

Out of print for 30 years, Sundazed presents this reissue taken from the original masters, and stuffed with rare photos and complete sessionographies. This particular album was Buck's tribute to one of his songwriting heroes. Contains 12 tracks. 1997 Sundazed reissue of 1963 Capitol album.

Customer Reviews:

You do know how!.......2007-06-19

Buck Owens got one of his first breaks in the music business as a guitarist in Tommy Collins' band in the mid-1950s. Collins was a modest success in the country music field, having a handful of hits in 1954 and 1955, and then having one more hit in 1966. After Buck had made it big, he decided to pay tribute to his former boss by recording an album of his songs in 1963, although it's likely that many country music fans had forgotten Collins by then, since he hadn't had a hit in eight years. Anyway, these are good songs, many of them humorous, and Buck does a good job with them. Somewhat surprisingly, Buck doesn't cover Tommy's biggest hit, "You Better Not Do That". "It Tickles" is a duet between Buck and his ex-wife, Bonnie Owens (she plays the girls who say that his mustache tickles when he kisses them). This is not an essential Buck Owens album by any means, but it's a solid album that his fans should enjoy.

+1/2 -- Not as snug a fit as Owens' own material.......2003-12-30

Having already established himself as a gifted songwriter, Owens isn't as well-served by this album of covers as he was by his original material. Having spent time as a guitarist in Collins' band, Owens gained an inside view of his mentor's catalog, allowing dig past the hits ("If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')") and novelties ("It Tickles," "I Always Get a Souvenir," "You Gotta Have a License").

The waltz-time "My Last Chance with You" and "High On a Hilltop" show off Owens' double-tracked harmony singing and Jay McDonald's steel playing, with Don Rich's fiddle winding through the latter, and his Telecaster on "Smooth Sailing." Throughout the album, the slower, sadder tunes, like "No Love Have I," provide Owens with the most meat, and making upbeat ditties like "What'cha Gonna Do Now?" sound lightweight. Only "Down, Down, Down" provides the sort of bounce that really energizes Owens' sound.

Unlike most of Sundazed's reissues on Buck Owens, this one features no bonus tracks - just the original twelve tracks. Owens didn't cut a bad album for Capitol, and this one's no exception - it just doesn't measure up the brilliance of his catalog's highpoints. It's worth picking up to flesh out a complete collection, but not the place to start appreciating super fine Sundazed's reissues.

3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings.

West Coast Country from 1963.......2003-08-16

In the mid 1950's Buck was an unknown singer who landed work playing guitar on recording sessions for artists at Capitol records. One of those artists was Tommy Collins who had a string of hits back then. This album was a tribute to a friend and mentor. It contains no hits but is well worth the listen. Many of these songs are full of humor and heartache. The perfect blend for a great country album. Sounds great on CD!!!!

Music Album:

Music Album