was one of dozens of second-string acts of the 1950s who found a new and receptive audience in Europe, Great Britain, the Netherlands and parts of the United States in the '70s. But one thing set apart from the sizable majority of his comrades -- actually got better with the passage of time. When began cutting new records in the '70s, his rich baritone voice had gained plenty of strength and seasoning after a few thousand honky tonk gigs, and thanks in part to a lack of interest in booze and drugs, sounded every bit as energetic and enthusiastic as he did when he first started making records in 1957. Given the impressive number of labels he has recorded for over the years, it's no wonder there hasn't been a definitive collection up until now, but the cross-licensing specialists at have finally put together a truly essential single-disc overview of his career, and certainly lives up to its name. never put much stock in the notion of songwriting, having recorded only a tiny handful or originals over the course of his career, but he's long seemed able to sing and play a little bit of everything, and though his deep voice led him to record a big stack of covers for (four of which make the cut here), he could also tackle ( ), ), and ) and make each one sound as if it had been written with him in mind. 's -ized cover of is frantic and unique, is practically feral in its forward momentum, fuses 's classic with a backbeat and sends it into orbit, and even his rare major-label sides (he cut a single for that just skimmed the charts) sound tough and untamed. has been one of America's leading natural resources of music over the course of a career spanning six decades, and delivers a full 80 minutes of rowdy good times; if you're only going to own one CD in your lifetime, this is the one to get. ~ Mark Deming