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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Greatest Kenny Compilation Ever Issued In the U.K, 16 Jan 2006
There have been many compilations of Kenny's music issued. Prior to this, the best one in the UK was 1985's "Kenny Rogers Story", which featured 20 tracks, this album doubles the ante and is available at an affordable price for any budget.There is also a CD called "42 Ultimate Hit's" available for a higher price (on import from the United States). That is slightly better, however, for listeners who just want to buy a bargain CD, this may be better as it is less expensive. If you unsure, look and compare the two collections. The first track on CD 1 is called "Lucille". This is the song that launched Kenny's solo career into the stratosphere. A country number about an unfaithful wife, it was a number 1 hit in many countries, including the UK. Prior to this success, Rogers had been a member of both The New Christie Minstrels and The First Edition in the 1960's. With the latter, he scored a number of hit's and two solo re-recordings of "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town" (originally a UK Number 1 hit in 1969) and "Reuben James" are on this collection. Throughout the '70's, after the First Edition split up, Kenny made a name for himself with a string of country/pop classics. "She Believes In Me" was a major hit in the United States, as was "The Gambler" (possibly Rogers most popular song ever). Though neither reached the top 40 in the UK, they were popular among both country and pop fans and to this day are still played on the radio. The same could be said for 1981's "Through The Years" (a number produced by Lionel Richie), this romantic ballad is played at many weddings, anniversaries and even funerals. Speaking of Lionel Richie, he also wrote and produced "Lady" especially for Kenny, another major American hit, that topped the charts for several weeks and also reached the top 20 in the UK. Kenny has also had success with duets, and a good selection is included here. Sheena Easton, Kim Carnes and Dottie West all make guest appearances. Although the selection of duets is good, My favorite of Kenny and Dottie's duets is "Anyone who isn't me tonight", a very raunchy number, sadly missing on this CD, but this is only a minor complaint as it's impossible to fit all of Kenny's great songs from the '70's and '80's on just 2 CD's. (10 CD's MIGHT do the job!). "Coward Of The County" was another world-wide Number 1 hit, about a pacifist who has to put up with being called a coward, until he is really put to the test. "Sweet Music Man" is a song Kenny Rogers as The First Edition were breaking up (and in part is autobiographical). "Love Or Something Like It" was written by Rogers and one of his backing musician, Steve Glassmeyer and is a fun bar song. Infact the "Love Or Something Like It" album is one of Kenny's best works, sadly this (or any other collection) never include any other tracks from it, but this CD does include generous selections from two of my other favorite Kenny albums, 1981's "Share Your Love" ("Through The Years", "Blaze Of Glory", "I Don't Need You" & "Share Your Love With Me") and 1976's "Kenny Rogers" ("Lucille", "Green Green Grass Of Home", "Son Of Hickory Hollers Tramp", "I Wasn't Man Enough", "Lay Down Beside Me" & "Puttin' In A Little Bit Of Overtime At Home". A later hit (mid 80's) was "Scarlet Fever", a song about a man who falls in love with a stripper. It's lyrics about lost love and recapturing memories make for a very fine song. Those are just some of the fine songs on this 40 track greatest hit's package and any good record or CD collection should have at least one Kenny album. Compare this with "42 Ultimate Hit's" and decide what one suits you better. Either way, you'll want to listen to them again and again.
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