Description
This is a review of a 30-sides compilation album by Carl Butler, released in the early 1950s. The album is full of great country music, with a style that recalls Hank Williams at his peak. The best material on the album recalls Williams' early work, but Butler was a more contemporary singer with a voice that split the difference between tough hillbilly twang and the smoother tones of a gifted crooner. The album also features gospel music, which is sung with sincerity and emotional power. The album's cast of musicians changes from session to session, but they are uniformly strong. The album was successful enough that Butler would gain chart success later on with Honky Tonkitis in 1961.
Hard acoustic country music doesn't get a lot better than the 30
sides cut by Carl Butler (with the Webster Brothers backing him up)
on this collection of his superb OKeh and Columbia singles. The
best material on this disc recalls Hank Williams at his peak, but
stylistically Butler was more a contemporary of Williams than a
follower, even if the first of these tunes was recorded a little
more than a year after Hank's death, and though Butler wasn't a
songwriter like Williams, he was arguably a better singer with a
voice that split the difference between tough hillbilly twang and
the smoother tones of a gifted crooner. The other musical reference
point here is the Louvin Brothers, given Butler's sincere and
impassioned handling of white gospel material (he also covers the
Louvins' Seven Year Blues here), and though Butler's harmonies
with Earl Webster lack the otherworldly beauty of the Louvin
Brothers at their best, they're executed with easy skill and
emotional power to spare. The cast of musicians tends to change
from session to session beyond Butler, Earl Webster, and Audie
Webster, but they're uniformly strong throughout, and the results
are a joy to hear. It would be some time after these recordings
before Butler would gain the chart success he richly deserved with
Honky Tonkitis in 1961, but I Wouldn't Change You If I Could
makes it clear these records didn't fail in the marketplace for a
lack of talent or quality material. This is wonderful stuff that
will bring a smile to any fan of classic old-school country of the
1950s, and the remastering and liner notes live up to Bear Family
Records' typically high standards, adding to the value of an
already strong release. ~ Mark Deming
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