Lefty Frizzell Albums (12)
'Songs of Jimmie Rodgers'
Release Date 8/17/1999
Tracks 12
Label Koch
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What The Critics Say
Originally, albums were nothing more than collections of 78-rpm singles, and Lefty cut eight sides for this Columbia-issued Jimmie Rodgers tribute album, one of the first of its kind. Those eight sides, plus four bonus sides, make up this reissue, which sports the original 10" LP's cover art and back cover. Though Lefty was in top form back in 1951, the later tracks from 1953 are no less terrific. Another chunk of the man's greatness. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide
'Signed Sealed and Delivered'
Release Date 1/1/1968
Tracks 9
Label Harmony
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'Lefty Frizzell Puttin' On'
Release Date 1/1/1967
Tracks 11
Label Columbia
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'Lefty Frizzell's Country Favorites'
Release Date 1/1/1966
Tracks 10
Label Harmony
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What The Critics Say
With a title such as this, the listener might expect a greatest-hits collection, and several repackagings emphasizing that kind of look hasn't helped clear up the confusion. Any collection by this uniquely smooth and expressive country singer will usually contain a few songs that developed into hits and/or country standards, such is the majesty of Frizzell, and this album is no exception. Beginning with a gorgeous vocal on "A King Without A Queen," the program continues through the rollicking "My Baby's Just Like Money," fat with honky tonk piano, and even counting in with a riff that Nina Simone also put to good use, among others. Other great numbers include "Run 'Em Off" and "Give Me More, More, More," which is a love song and not a description of merger and sell-off business tactics in the '80s. Although this is a singer who could easily hold interest without any backup musicians, it would have been nice to at least credit the session players who add so many nice touches, especially the lead guitar and somewhat under-recorded steel guitar. The abbreviated playing time might not strike buyers as much of a bargain, as the entire album could have fit on one side of the vinyl. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
'The Sad Side of Love'
Release Date 1/1/1965
Tracks 12
Label Columbia
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What The Critics Say
The career of this great country singer in some ways went in the opposite manner of other performers who came out of the honky tonk tradition. Usually the earlier recordings of this genre of country singers are the really good ones, with later productions tending to be saturated with the background choruses, string sections, and downplayed picking which passed for fancy productions once Nashville started going Pop like the weasel. However, in the case of Frizzell, this earlier album is one of the ones with somewhat excessive production, and the later recordings sport a more toned-down bar band sound, heavy on the barrelhouse piano. Not that the production here is really that obtrusive. Certainly other country singers have fallen much more the victim to their background singers than this man, who would sound good with a steam hammer and the entire roller-skating staff of a drive-in diner trying to back him up. The title song was of course a huge hit, and if there was ever a town that is too dull to deserve such a great song, "Saginaw, Michigan" would be it. "There's No Food in This House" is a chillingly understated Merle Kilgore number, the singer admitting that he "used to ask what there was for supper, now I don't ask anymore." The conclusion of the song involving a delivery of food from the good-hearted folks at a nearby church may rub some cynical listeners the wrong way. "Hello to Him" is an out and out classic, one of the best songs the artist ever recorded, while the jumping "James River" even sports a banjo in the arrangement, despite this instrument having been practically banned from Nashville recording studios. The best of this material is typical Lefty Frizzell -- in other words, some of the best country music around. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
