Palance – Jack Palance

If most people identify Jack Palance as an actor and not a country singer, that's because they're unfamiliar with the album he cut for Warner Bros. in 1969. Palance gives the actor a chance to step from movie to recording studio to cut a handful of country classics and a few self-penned originals. And while the overall setup may strike one as an exercise in novelty, the results transcend amateur status. Palance starts the collection off with Red Lane and Hank Cochran's "Brother Love," singing in his deep voice and backed by some nifty rolling guitar and dobro. There are fun versions of "Heartaches By the Number" and "Green, Green Grass of Home," and a real nice take on Curly Putman and Billy Sherrill's "My Elusive Dreams." Buddy Killen's production carries certain handicaps from the period, including cheesy background singers, but he never crowds Palance's vocals or buries the hot licks of the studio musicians. Of particular interest are the three Palance songs, most notably "The Meanest Guy That Ever Lived." The song, in fact, sounds a lot like a parody of the Western persona he relied on in a number of movies, complete with "a gun on each hip" and "a snarl on my lip." The 2003 re-release of Palance makes the package even more entertaining by adding a set of liner notes by Raymond Hall. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr., All Music Guide