What about that yo-yo in the earlier review whose criticism of Hank Snow is that someone else once told him Hank Williams was better?? Hey, I like Hank Williams, too, but what's the relevance? Anyway, to me Hank Snow was just a name until I heard "Golden Rocket" in a movie soundtrack several yrs ago (Who'll Stop the Rain) and was hooked immediately...had to hear more! Then I got this CD and it's been a fixture in my music rotation ever since. Once Hank's excellent, pitch-perfect voice gets into your head, you'll think about country singing in a whole new way. I also recommend the Jasmine CDs that have been released recently -- I think they're recordings from radio broadcasts in the 1950s and their non-studio immediacy really demonstrates what a consummate professional Hank Snow was. Buy this CD -- you absolutely won't be sorry (even if you already like Hank Williams!)

Hank Snow, the late Singing Ranger from Liverpool, Nova Scotia had 65 Billboard hits from 1949-1974. All were on the RCA label, which must have made it a bit easier to assemble such a worthwhile compilation. "The Essential Hank Snow" spans his golden years from "I'm Movin' On" (1949) to "Hello Love" (1974). EACH of the 20 tracks was a top 10 Billboard selection! All of Hank's 6 # 1 songs are here including the epics, "I Don't Hurt Anymore" (1954) and "I'm Moving On". Both stayed on the charts for over 40 weeks (!).What's not to like here? Personal favorites are highly subjective but this reviewer loved "Would You Mind?" from 1955, "The Wishing Well" from 1965 and the aforementioned "Hello Love". Other reviewers have helpfully noted that short of buying an expensive box set, this CD is the best way of owning a solid, if not completely inclusive selection of Snow's work. On a related note, serious country fans should pay very close attention to the "Essential" series for reliable albums of the best music from our past heroes. The EHS is good, solid classic country as its' best. It is long beyond saying that they are not making any more Hank Snows and never will again. This reviewer would also bet that Mr. Snow was a true gentleman in real life, eh.

There was a time in the 1950s that I began to think a certain Hank Snow song was the national anthemn; I heard it every day for-like-a year! And while he was certainly a country artist, to me, he was just Hank Snow. His records were always well-produced and many of his songs lent themselves to interpretation by non-country artists. ("I Went To Your Wedding" springs to mind). Elvis Presley recorded his "A Fool Such As I". Still there is nobody in his era who sounded quite like Hank Snow (though Ernest Tubb was mentioned). "I Don't Hurt Anymore" still touches me as few songs can. If you only want one set of Hank Snow's works, this is the one.