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stoutfellowAlbum Title: 42 Ultimate Hits, Kenny Rogers
Why I Bought It: Same old story: I didn't have any Kenny Rogers albums.
What I Like (Fun): "The Greatest". Just a neat little song about a kid playing fungo, to the cheers of the stadium of his imagination.
What I Like (Boogie): "Something's Burning". In many ways, this is my favorite Kenny Rogers song; great buildup to the chorus.
What I Like (Mournful): "Twenty Years Ago". A wonderfully nostalgic song, but the last verse is the killer:
What I Like (Stern): "Tell It All, Brother". A solemn blast at hypocrisy.
What I Don't Like (Icky): "Scarlet Fever". A song about a pubescent girl who dances at a night club, and the feelings she arouses in her watchers. Just yecch.
What I Don't Like (Wrong Message): "Coward of the County". Let's see, shall I (who have avoided fights all my life) try to beat up the men who raped my girl, or shall I, let's see, bring in the law? That Tommy actually managed to do the former doesn't help. Dishonorable Mention: "She Believes in Me".
What I Don't Like (Banal): "The Gambler". They actually made a movie out of this?
Overall: There are forty-two songs on this two-disk album. There was bound to be a certain amount of chaff, but there's a lot of good stuff too. I didn't mention his great duets - "Islands in the Stream", "We've Got Tonight", "My World Is Over" - or the rollicking "It's a Beautiful Life", or... Suffice it to say that this is one of my favorite albums.
Why I Bought It: Same old story: I didn't have any Kenny Rogers albums.
What I Like (Fun): "The Greatest". Just a neat little song about a kid playing fungo, to the cheers of the stadium of his imagination.
I am the greatestHonorable mention: "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight"
That is understood
But even I didn't know
I could pitch that good!
What I Like (Boogie): "Something's Burning". In many ways, this is my favorite Kenny Rogers song; great buildup to the chorus.
What I Like (Mournful): "Twenty Years Ago". A wonderfully nostalgic song, but the last verse is the killer:
I guess I should stop by Mr. Johnson's hardware storeHonorable mention: "Reuben James" (not to be confused with the Kingston Trio song; this one's about an old black sharecropper)
His only son was my friend Joe
But he joined the army back in 1964
How could we know he would never come back
Twenty years ago
What I Like (Stern): "Tell It All, Brother". A solemn blast at hypocrisy.
What I Don't Like (Icky): "Scarlet Fever". A song about a pubescent girl who dances at a night club, and the feelings she arouses in her watchers. Just yecch.
What I Don't Like (Wrong Message): "Coward of the County". Let's see, shall I (who have avoided fights all my life) try to beat up the men who raped my girl, or shall I, let's see, bring in the law? That Tommy actually managed to do the former doesn't help. Dishonorable Mention: "She Believes in Me".
What I Don't Like (Banal): "The Gambler". They actually made a movie out of this?
Overall: There are forty-two songs on this two-disk album. There was bound to be a certain amount of chaff, but there's a lot of good stuff too. I didn't mention his great duets - "Islands in the Stream", "We've Got Tonight", "My World Is Over" - or the rollicking "It's a Beautiful Life", or... Suffice it to say that this is one of my favorite albums.
