There are perhaps as many as a hundred compilations out there on labels obscure and well-known. Most of them are crap because they present too few of the great songwriter's works and/or do so in a dodgy manner. , issued by , isn't one of them. In fact, it just may be the best single-disc representation of the man's music out there. It's true: released the vast majority of the songs that established as the true poet of the working man and for starters here, there are 26 cuts on this set. The majority of them come from of course, but they also chart 's singles on labels like and , as well as his later independent material all the way down to his duet with on from 2005. The sound is phenomenal, and so is the package, with two sets of liner notes by the venerable 's producer . There's also a blurb form the that murdered a few tunes back in the day, but don't hold that against him. All the hits are here, from in 1966 to the killer in 1969, to 1973's poignant ballad ; from the -produced in 1980 to his period, which nailed down the hits in 1982 with and the classic duets with ( ) and ), to his own from 2001 and 2003 respectively. Combine that with the duet and you have literally 40 years of music form the man on a single CD. And yeah, the two legendary redneck stompers, are here too because they had to be, but so is This is sure to turn anyone who is curious into a fan. And for those who have everything, this is just a killer mix. Highly recommended. ~ Thom Jurek