WHEN COUNTRY WAS COUNTRY

MARK LINDSAY : A GOLDEN CLASSICS  EDITION : ARIZONA / SILVER BIRD : Mark Lindsay enjoyed success both as the lead singer of Paul Revere And The Raiders and as a solo artist in the late 1960s. While he got a great pipe for rock 'n' roll songs, his solo output also demonstrated he is equally adapt with more subdued and orchestrated materials. There are numerous Paul Revere and The Raiders CDs in the market but it's a lot harder to find solo materials by Mark Lindsay. When I spotted this 2 in 1 CD, I was, initially hesitant in purchasing it 'cos it was not cheap and I was not too much of a fan of these kind of music either. Eventually, three songs won me over, 'Small Town Woman', 'Love's Been Good To Me', and the Neil Diamond penned 'And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind'. The others, 'Arizona', 'Sunday Morning's Coming Down', Silver Bird', and his medley of The Beatles, 'The Long And Winding Road / Yesterday' are not bad either. I'm sure there are hidden gems here that I've yet to discovered 'cos I don't play this as often as I should. DOP : 20th March 2011.

BELLAMY BROTHERS : BEST OF THE BEST : The Bellamy Brothers was a pop and country duo that consists of David Milton Bellamy and Homer Howard Bellamy. They have considerable successes in the 1970s and 1980s starting with 'Let Your Love Flow', a moderate hit in 'Lovers Live Longer' and then a smash in 1979 with the rather long titled 'If I Said You Have A Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me'. The rest of the tracks 'Old Hippie', 'You Ain't Just Whistlin' Dixie', 'Dancin' Cowboys' are all pleasing to the ears but the problem is they are just not memorable. You played them, listened to them and then you forget about them. Pretty much like the sun lotion that you applied on your body on a beach on a hot sunny day........ DOP : 14th August 1993.

THE KENNY ROGERS STORY : 20 GOLDEN GREATS : Before he started selling roasted chickens, Kenny Rogers was one of the biggest country stars in the world. He started out as a member of The New Christy Minstrals who gave us the hit 'Today' and later The First Edition that gave us 'Something's Burning' and 'Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town'. When The First Edition disbanded , Kenny Rogers went into MOR territory and chalked up a string of big hits that begin with 'Lucille', 'Lady'. 'You've Decorated My Life' and his signature song 'The Gambler'. My favorites here includes the oh so beautiful 'Through The Years', a song highly recommended for anybody's wedding anniversary celebration, the rather similar sounding but still great, 'Coward Of The County' and 'The Long Arm Of The Law. This CD was given to me by a female colleague for what reasons I don't remember but it was a great gift. Listening to this CD does stirred up the memories and it surely would be a great tragedy if the younger generation remembers Kenny Rogers as the chicken man instead of Kenny Rogers the singer of great songs, which he surely was in his prime. DOP : 5th November 1992.