The Unreleased Recordings [Long Box] (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Hank Williams (vocals, guitar); Cousin Louie Buck (spoken vocals); Samuel K. "Sammy" Pruett (guitar); Jerry Rivers (fiddle); Howard Watts (bass guitar); Audrey Williams (background vocals).

Liner Note Author: Colin Escott.

As important as any country music release in the digital era, HANK WILLIAMS: THE UNRELEASED RECORDINGS finds Williams delivering some of the most impactful performances of his career. Captured during his artistic zenith in 1951 for the Mother's Best Flour Company, these sessions' acetates were forgotten until the 1970s. Eventually Williams's daughter Jett won a protracted legal battle and partnered with Time Life for their release. Mastered without the severe compression that bedeviled his most famous studio recordings, the 143 tracks foreground Williams's expressive vocal delivery as it seesaws between a yearning rustic croon and shiv-sharp, reedy wail. A loose Hank jokes with his studio band and even tells stories about some of the songs as he introduces them. Touching upon his classics like "Cold, Cold Heart," "Hey, Good Lookin'," and "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," the bulk of the three discs comprises songs that pop up nowhere else in the country god's catalog. Among these many standouts include charged readings of "On Top of Old Smokey," the cowboy standard "Cool Water," and the Luke the Drifter song "Pictures from Life's Other Side" (with a never-before-heard extra verse). An essential purchase for country music fans and enthusiasts of all stripes.

Considering the seismic impact Hank Williams had on country music, it's remarkable to think that his recording career lasted a mere six years -- he signed with MGM Records in early 1947, and was found dead in the back of his Cadillac en route to a gig on the first day of 1953. Williams was a prolific recording artist during that period, cutting an impressive 68 singles in addition to appearing as a regular guest on WSM's weekly Grand Ole Opry broadcast from Nashville and maintaining a punishing schedule of personal appearances. Given Williams' overloaded agenda, it's hard to imagine why he'd agree to also host an early-morning radio show five days a week, but starting in January 1951, he did just that, performing from 7:15 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. every Monday through Friday on WSM, sponsored by Mother's Best Flour. The show lasted for 15 weeks, and since Williams was frequently out on the road and unable to make it into the studio for live broadcasts, he recorded most of the Mother's Best programs in advance. Thankfully, a Williams fan at WSM had the presence of mind to save the transcription discs of the Mother's Best shows when they were in danger of being thrown away, and after years of legal wrangling over the rights to the recordings, the Hank Williams estate has finally arranged for an authorized release of this material. The Unreleased Recordings is a three-disc set that features 54 songs from the Mother's Best broadcasts, and for serious Hank Williams fans this collection was well worth the wait. The quality of the recordings is usually as good as his studio sessions of the period and often better, with Williams' vocals frequently sounding stronger and more resonant than on his singles, and the performances are strong but casual at the same time.

For these shows, Williams and his band the Drifting Cowboys usually worked out the set lists on the fly, and it's said that the bandmembers often found themselves playing tunes they'd never formally rehearsed for the radio audience. But despite all that, the musicians follow Williams with skill and confidence, and the emotional force of Williams' vocals is an impressive thing to hear. Though a number of Williams' greatest hits are on the song list (sometimes before they were recorded for mass consumption), some of the most remarkable moments come when he pulls classic country and gospel favorites from the songbook: "On Top of Old Smokey" and "Cool Water" are given unexpectedly powerful and dramatic readings; "Cherokee Boogie" and "Tennessee Border" sound enthusiastic and energetic in the hands of the Drifting Cowboys; and white gospel classics like "Softly and Tenderly," "Dust on the Bible," and "I'll Fly Away" are delivered with genuine fervor, as Williams and his band join their voices together for some stellar harmonies. Given how Hank Williams' body of work has been extensively recycled and repackaged in the 50-plus years since his passing, the discovery of a cache of unheard Williams sessions would be good news even under the least favorable circumstances, but The Unreleased Recordings presents the country legend not only in fine form, but essaying some unexpected material with heart, soul, and savvy; it won't replace the man's essential catalog, but it certainly brings a welcome new perspective to his music as well as his influences. ~ Mark Deming minimize