Very Best of Kenny Rogers [Box-Set]

Taking the classic solo recordings first, the compilation opens withy Kenny's two UK number one country hits - Lucille and Coward of the county, both of which also made the top five in the American pop charts. Apart from Tennessee Ernie Ford (whose hits pre-dated the birth of rock'n'roll), Kenny is the only country singer (so far) to have two UK number one hits. Even Jim Reeves (the only country singer ever to be a consistent hit-maker in the UK) only managed one UK number one (Distant drums) and that was a posthumous hit.

Kenny's biggest American hit (Lady) spent several weeks at number one there but stalled outside the UK top ten. Being written and produced by Lionel Richie, it deserved to do a lot better but perhaps it wasn't the type of record that the UK pop buyers of the day liked. Other notable American hits include Sweet music man, All my life, Love the world away, She believes in me, You decorated my life, Blaze of glory (which would sound ever better as the closing track), Love will turn you around, I don't need you, Scarlet fever, Share your love with me. Love or something like it and Through the years. Notable by their absence are Love lifted me, Daytime friends and The gambler, but all those songs are easy to find elsewhere - if you must have them, buy a different compilation. The collection also includes re-recordings of Ruby don't take your love to town (a UK number two hit in 1969) and Reuben James, both of which Kenny originally recorded as lead singer of Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. The surprise here is that Something's burning is omitted - the original version was a UK top ten hit.

My first Kenny Rogers album was his untitled 1977 album. It is also the most traditional country album that Kenny ever recorded. The compiler of this collection clearly enjoys that album as much as I do because it is generously represented here. Apart from Lucille (the big hit from the album), you'll also find Son of Hickory Holler's tramp (a cover of O C Smith's sixties hit), Green green grass of home (another sixties cover), Lay down beside me (a Don Williams song although Kenny recorded it first), Putting in overtime at home (a cover of a Charlie Rich country hit), Laura what's he got that I ain't got (a minor country hit for Kenny that rarely turns up on Kenny's compilations) and I wasn't man enough (possibly making its debut on a compilation). With that many songs selected, it's a pity that neither Mother country music (my favorite track from the album apart from Lucille) nor While I play the fiddle (another great song that rarely appears on compilations) were among them.

The duets with Dottie are Every time two fools collide (a song that Dottie was planning to record solo until Kenny turned up at the recording session) and covers of All I ever need in you, We love each other, Together again, Let it be me, Just the way you are and You've lost that loving feeling. Notable by their absence are Anyone who isn't me tonight and Till I can make it on my own.

While there are some obvious omissions, there are plenty of less-frequently heard songs that are well worth hearing. Apart from those already mentioned, here you can find You were a good friend, Long arm of the law, While the feeling's good, Twentieth century fool and A love song.

As an introduction to Kenny's music, this is brilliant but even if you've got some of his music already, you may decide to buy this for the songs you haven't got.