[.ca] The Best I've Ever Been

From Amazon.com:
It's no surprise that Porter Wagoner, the rhinestone-spangled Grand Ole Opry legend of the '50s and '60s, is remembered in 2000 as Dolly Parton's discoverer and more recently as an Opryland greeter. In his heyday, his voice was never as much the key as his heartfelt delivery. Part of the last generation of truly rural singers, Wagoner wore his emotions on his sleeve as he sang of love, small town dramas, or madness ("The Rubber Room" is a classic of the genre). At 72, the voice is rougher, yet his emotive genius stands undaunted as he mines this elegiac collection of songs by Damon Black for every last ounce of pathos. The subjects are timeless: failing farms, doomed May-December relationships, long-gone youth, distant rural memories, romantic desperation, and old-style values. "Fiddle and the Bow" represents the type of story-song he took to the Top 10 decades ago. Such earthy simplicity is surely beyond the comprehension of today's marketing-obsessed Music Row zealots. For Wagoner's sake, it's probably just as well. --Rich Kienzle

Still Great at 70:
Though Porter is in his 70's this is one of the best albums he has made. The selections tell timeless stories of family, of love gone wrong, and love he'd like to have again. In other words, just good old country music. His delivery is still great and the music ain't bad. If you like Porter, or just classic country, buy this album.

Porter Wagoner's Back & Critics Agree:
"If this isn't the best Wagoner has ever been, it's certainly close." -THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER "If the counry crowd is looking for a new hero, they need look no further than this 70-plus years-young elder statesman." -SONICNET.COM "At 73, Porter Wagoner holds court at the Grand Ole Opry with classic songs and time-worn war stories. But this new record proves his past magic still has a place in country music's present." -NO DEPRESSION MAGAZINE

Among Porter's Best Work:
Perhaps his genial, rhinestone-encrusted image obscures the broad impact Porter Wagoner has had on country music; for every lighthearted "Company's Comin'" or "Y'all Come," there's been a meaty "Skid Row Joe" or "The Carroll County Accident." The Best I've Ever Been triumphantly covers the universal themes and rural life slices Wagoner did in his heyday, and if he were age 35 instead of in his 70s they'd be calling this a comeback album. The songs, all written by Damon Black, showcase Wagoner the chronicler whose singing and speaking draw pictures of ordinary life and go straight to the emotional heart of a matter. "Daddy's Ole Sayins, Mama's Beliefs" recalls a character father and devout mother, the type of parents many rural folks had. The unraveling of a May-December love stabs at the heart in "I Knew This Day Would Come." He sings of love on the way out in "Watching Eagles Fly," puts you right inside the hard scrabble Mississippi childhood of "Dusty Delta Memories," takes shots at the government and business conglomerates in "Brewster's Farm," and makes you feel the ongoing desolation of "Broken Hearts Beat On." "I'd Like To Make That Same Mistake Again" and "Till The Right One Comes Along" are infectious stone country. Wagoner proves here that George Jones ain't the only over-60 country singer that's still on his game.

• Brewster's Farm
• I Knew This Day Would Come
• Dusty Delta Memories
• Daddy's Ole Sayins, Mama's Beliefs
• House on Mulberry Street
• Watching Eagles Fly
• I'd Like to Make That Same Mistake Again
• Broken Hearts Beat On
• 'Til the Right One Comes Along
• Fiddle and the Bow
• When the Silver Eagle Meets the Great Speckled Bird \o*\c