Bear Family BCD 17351 AH



You might ask why do we need another Hank Snow compilation? Over the years, it seems that we’ve been flooded by releases of the very first Canadian country music star, but it must mean that there’s still a demand for the recordings of the ‘Singing Ranger.’ This latest one is of a higher quality than the cheap budget releases that abound. Like all Bear Family releases, it comes with a detailed booklet that includes rare photos from Hank’s 60-plus years career, and a well-written essay full of interesting facts about his life and the recordings. The 18 songs selected are deemed to be those most requested at the Hank Snow Home Town Museum in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. The museum was opened in 1997, and shortly after the staff maintained a tally of requested songs from visitors, as well as from the many letters, phone calls and emails received at the museum. As a celebration of the 100^th anniversary of Hank Snow’s birth, the museum partnered with Bear Family to produce this collection.

It’s a broad cross-section of material, and not just the well-known hits, though several of those are included. Hank was famous for his ‘travelling’ songs like his self-penned I’m Movin’ On, which was his breakthrough American hit from 1950, reaching number one and remaining there for 21 weeks. The Last Ride (1959) and I’ve Been Everywhere (1962), two other hits, also show his life-long love for trains and travel. But he was as much at home with other styles particularly the ballad and the story song. Among his many great ballads are Just A Faded Petal From A Beautiful Bouquet, Down The Trail Of Achin’ Hearts (with Anita Carter, of the Carter Family), A Fool Such As I, and Hello Love a hit when Hank was 60 years old.

Though he lived most of his life in America, having moved there in the 1940s, he never forgot his birthplace and pays tribute here with My Nova Scotia Home, whilst Squid Jiggin Ground, recalls his time as a young teenage fisherman. His childhood was hard, having grown up in poverty, compounded by an abusive step-father. Those hard times are recalled in such sad songs as Nobody’s Child and Little Buddy. The latter includes a short narration, a lost art form, but one of which Hank Snow was a master. He demonstrates even more fully with the tale of Black Diamond, a moving recitation that still gets to me, some 50 years after I first heard it. He also offers his own versions of other performers’ hits including Green Green Grass Of Home, Snowbird and A Daisy A Day. It’s often forgotten that Hank Snow was a superb guitarist. He would often play the acoustic lead guitar runs that added that distinctive touch to his recordings. This collection closes with a special bonus track, a previously unissued instrumental rendition of Jim Reeves’ Am I Losing You, which he recorded at his home studio.  

Though he passed away in 1999, Hank Snow and his music still commands a loyal following around the world. Unlike too many of today’s country music vocalists, he had a distinctive sound that stood out from the rest. It was an honest, credible style that was deeply rooted in the down-home roots of country music. This collection makes for ideal listening both for that dedicated fan base and for younger music lovers who possibly are not familiar with the music of Hank Snow—a one-of-a-kind country music pioneer.

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