Honky Tonk Man: The Essential Johnny Horton 1956-1960 (Columbia/Legacy, 1996)

Anthologies are the best way to go with Johnny Horton. In spite of his talents, his discography is inconsistent, featuring as many low points as high ones. For the most part, Honky Tonk Man: The Essential Johnny Horton 1956-1960 does a fine job of separating the wheat from the chaff.

Much of the reason why this singer-guitarist didn't achieve greater stardom, according to country music authority and booklet notes writer Colin Escott, was a lack of "deep-seated commitment" to his music. A drifter from a family of drifters, Horton seemed to view being a musician as just another job that would pay the bills while he pursued more important interests like hunting, fishing, and extrasensory perception. By the early 1950s, he was a professional entertainer with a few releases on Mercury whose biggest claim to fame was marrying Hank Williams' widow. His new manager, Tillman Franks, helped him secure a contract with Columbia in 1955 and had visions of recasting him as a rockabilly. The following year, Horton had his first big hit, "Honky Tonk Man," as well as a few other singles that achieved respectable positions on the country and western charts. 1957 and 1958 were lean years, but his career peaked in 1959 and 1960 with the historically-flavored smashes "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)," "The Battle of New Orleans," "Johnny Reb," "Sink the Bismark," and "North to Alaska." However, this formula eventually started to wear thin, requiring Horton and Franks to come up with another musical reinvention. They never received the opportunity to do so. Not long after allegedly having premonitions of his impending death, Horton was killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver on November 5, 1960

JOHNNY HORTON IN THE MIDDLE FLANKED BY TILLMAN
FRANKS ON BASS & TOMMY TOMLINSON ON ELECTRIC GUITAR

This collection's first disc predominantly features material that straddles the line between country and rockabilly, which is evident on the deservedly successful "Honky Tonk Man," "I'm a One Woman Man," "I'm Coming Home," and "The Woman I Need (Honky Tonk Mind)." However, there are also several worthwhile non-hits dating from Horton's first couple of years on Columbia, including songs with a stripped-down sound similar to early Johnny Cash and Johnny Burnette: "Take Me Like I Am," "I Don't Like I Did (Before)," "Hooray for That Little Difference," "She Knows Why," "Goodbye Lonesome (Hello, Baby Doll)," "I'll Do It Every Time," and "Let's Take the Long Way Home." Other tracks display continued musical development, such as the syncopated rhythms on "Lover's Rock," the bass strings guitar solo on the Chuck Berryish "Honky-Tonk Hardwood Floor," and the engaging arrangements on "The Wild One." The concluding four tracks come from a rare album that was recorded in early 1958 and issued exclusively to radio stations. The lame "Hot in the Sugarcane Field" is fake calypso (!), while "Wise to the Ways of a Woman" and "I Love You Baby" are so-so pop songs with hokey backing singers. "Out in New Mexico," on the other hand, is an exceptional western ballad written by Horton that would not have sounded out of place on a Marty Robbins album.

CD number two gets off to a terrible start with the rockabilly-lite of "All Grown Up." It's not necessarily that bad of a song, but those lamentably cloying female vocalists pretty much ruin things. All is forgiven, however, on the steady-rolling "Got the Bull by the Horns." Horton's aforementioned string of novelty song hits - "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)," "The Battle of New Orleans" (a bowdlerized version of Jimmy Driftwood's interpretation of an old fiddle piece commemorating Andrew Jackson's celebrated victory over the British during the War of 1812), "Johnny Reb" (notably covered by Johnny Cash), "Sink the Bismark" (perhaps intended as an apologia for the blatantly anti-British "New Orleans"), and "North to Alaska" - can arguably still be considered his finest moments, especially if you are as much of a history buff as I am. "Lost Highway" is a superb reading of a country standard, with "Words" featuring a similar vibe. "Cherokee Boogie" and "The Golden Rocket" both rock pretty convincingly as one would hope with titles such as those, while "Sal's Got a Sugar Lip" finds Horton successfully covering another Jimmie Driftwood tune. If you can get past the "hee-haws" in the chorus, then maybe you won't think that "The Electrified Donkey" is as corny as I do. While similarly rural in a thematic sense, "Ole Slew Foot" and "Sleepy-Eyed John" avoid the pitfalls of the previously-mentioned song and point to a musical direction Horton could have successfully followed had he lived long enough to develop further as an artist. "The Mansion You Stole" is a little too syrupy for my tastes, but "Evil Hearted Me" and "You Don't Move Me Baby Anymore" feature a return to that honky tonk sound that defined Horton during the beginning of his tenure with Columbia.

REMAINS OF A PICTURE SLEEVE FROM A 45 OF
"THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS" (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Disc 1 (all tracks monaural)

1. Honky Tonk Man
2. I'm a One Woman Man
3. Take Me Like I Am
4. I Don't Like I Did (Before)
5. Hooray for That Little Difference
6. I'm Coming Home
7. She Knows Why
8. The Woman I Need (Honky Tonk Mind)
9. Goodbye Lonesome (Hello, Baby Doll)
10 I'll Do It Every Time
11. Let's Take the Long Way Home
12. Lover's Rock
13. Honky-Tonk Hardwood Floor
14. The Wild One
15. Hot in the Sugarcane Field
16. Wise to the Ways of a Woman
17. Out in New Mexico
18. I Love You Baby

Disc 2 (all tracks stereo)

1. All Grown Up
2. Got the Bull by the Horns
3. When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)
4. The Battle of New Orleans
5. Lost Highway
6. Cherokee Boogie
7. The Golden Rocket
8. Words
9. Johnny Reb
10. Sal's Got a Sugar Lip
11. The Electrified Donkey
12. Sink the Bismark
13. Ole Slew Foot
14. Sleepy-Eyed John
15. The Mansion You Stole
16. North to Alaska
17. Evil Hearted Me
18. You Don't Move Me Baby Anymore