Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys (1946-1964)

It's 12 CDs, 321 tracks, and lists for over $300, but for those with the budget or the discipline to save up for it, this box set is it -- not only every record that Hank Thompson cut for Capitol between 1947 and 1964, but also his ultra-rare, never-before-reissued sides for Globe and Blue Bonnet from 1946 and 1947. Disc One opens with those early jewels -- there's not a less-than-first-rate recording on this 30-song CD, and the playing, while a little crude compared to Thompson's later work, is a match for anything being recorded at the time. Disc Three begins Thompson's history as an album artist, and the character and quality of the material changes somewhat -- there are a few more slow numbers, and some slight sameness begins to intrude into the music, but the quality of the performances is undiminished. Disc Four has the major part of his second album along with a ton of singles, and the latter are generally more brisk and upbeat than the LP material. Disc Five includes the first extensive re-records of Thompson's older stuff, and also includes Thompson's brief foray into rock & roll, as well as lots of Western swing standards. Disc Seven opens real hot, with the stuff off of Songs for Rounders, and a bunch of instrumentals that round out the 1958 material, then jumps ahead a year to his next session. Discs Nine and Ten jump ahead a bit to Thompson's last studio work for Capitol, released through 1965. Discs Eleven and Twelve are devoted to Thompson's live albums from the early 1960s. And to top it off, this set comes with an oversized hardcover book, featuring not only a biography and sessionography, but recollections by Thompson about every recording session.