Live at the Grand Ole Opry

Imagine tuning in to radio station WSM back in 1949 and hearing Hank Williams comin' in live over the airwaves from the Grand Ole Opry! Well, that's what you have here-23 of his performances at that country temple, from his first broadcast in June 1949 to this last in July of 1952. Includes three tracks on CD for the first time, plus previously unissued versions and a bonus disc containing one complete Opry show with Red Foley, Minnie Pearl and the whole gang!

Some years ago, MGM Records issued an LP of 11 Hank Williams Opry performances originally recorded for broadcast on Armed Forces Radio. Years of digging have unearthed much more Hank at the Ryman in crystal-clear monaural sound. Disc 1's 19 songs, punctuated by onstage joshing with singer Red Foley and Opry comics Minnie Pearl and Rod Brasfield, begin with his June 1949 debut as an Opry regular, ending in July 1952, a month before his firing over drinking-related no-shows. These powerful live renditions include the broadcast debuts of "Jambalaya" and "Window Shopping" along with two stark, chilling gospel numbers. Even with his physical stamina failing--as it clearly was on the final two songs--these raw performances are powerful testaments to Hank's charismatic genius and remain as arresting today as at the moment of broadcast. Disc 2, a complete 1950 Opry segment featuring Williams, Foley, and other Opry acts, is a historically valid, though musically inferior document, and including it on a Hank Williams package tends to dissipate the album's overall focus. --Rich Kienzle