Hank Williams - Building A collection - Health And Happiness Shows (Sound Quality Question)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by hodgo, Mar 31, 2017.

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  1. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff Thread Starter

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    I'm trying to gradually build up my Hank Williams collection so I hope Brad doesn't mind me opening this thread with a quote of his from a previous now closed thread......

    I was looking at buying Legend Begins: Rare & Unreleased

    [​IMG]

    However in the Amazon reviews section, there is a Review by "Hankman" comparing this with the 1993 Polygram release The Health And Happiness shows. This review states that the sound quality is much better on the original 1993 release for the H & H Shows, this is in part due to lack of noise reduction on the original set. I then headed over to here and after searching through the forum, I came across Brad's post which confirms the lack of NR.

    My question is, can anyone confirm which has the best sound quality for the H& H shows, the 1993 release or "The Legend Begins"? I'm minded to think it will be the 1993 release but I thought I should confirm with you guys first.

    [​IMG]
     
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  2. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    As I posted earlier, stick with the 1993 release.
     
  3. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff Thread Starter

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    Thanks for the confirmation Brad, I've now placed an order with an Amazon UK re seller for the 1993 release. This side of the pond it's really hard to find at a reasonable price, I had looked at Amazon.Com where there are lots more sellers advertising it at a reasonable price, sadly however none of them ship to Europe, luckily I managed to snag a copy for £17 inc P&P.
     
  4. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    You won't be disappointed with the 1993 edition. It sounds fine. An essential Hank set.
     
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  5. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff Thread Starter

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    Thanks, I'm looking forward to receiving this set soon.

    I know "The Legend Begins" has a third disc but I'm more interested in having these radio shows with nice SQ that will bear repeated listening.
     
  6. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    There's a pictorial booklet inside with informative liner notes by Colin Escott. A classy package, I must say.
     
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  7. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

  8. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff Thread Starter

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    Coincidence or what, I have this playing right now.

    To answer your question I bought mine from new and there's no slipcase with mine.
     
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  9. The Killer

    The Killer Dung Heap Rooster

    Location:
    The Cotswolds
    I can't compare to the 3 disc set but the original release is a very nice package. The live stuff is great so if you if you haven't got the Omnivore Garden Spot disc from a series of 1950s radio shows then you ought to, the sound quality is astonishing. It's not his regular backing band but most of those country guys really know how to play and this bunch definitely do. I think it's my favourite disc of his - I have the 10" ep, the LP (red vinyl) and the CD!
     
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  10. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff Thread Starter

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    The Omnivore Garden Spot CD is on my list as is the Luke The Drifter Disc Beyond the Sunset

    Here's what I have or what is on order at the moment......

    The Original Singles Collection...Plus (3 x CD)
    The Health & Happiness Shows (2 x CD)
    "Turn Back The Years" The Essential Hank Williams (3 x CD)
    The Unreleased Recordings (3 x CD Boxset)
    Revealed (The Unreleased Recordings Vol 2 (3 x CD Boxset)
     
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  11. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    Last edited: Mar 31, 2017
  12. The Killer

    The Killer Dung Heap Rooster

    Location:
    The Cotswolds
    Don't forget the 2-disc Live at the Opry.
     
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  13. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    For mastering and content, The Original Singles Collection...Plus (3 x CD) is the best thing out there. 40 Greatest Hits is also an excellent, cheaper alternative.
     
  14. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

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  15. The Killer

    The Killer Dung Heap Rooster

    Location:
    The Cotswolds
    Before I knew any better I used to think Time-Life were like K-Tel or Ronco - wrong! Some of their stuff is first rate SQ with some excellent folk involved too.
     
  16. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    I used to think the same thing, but their Hank Williams releases changed my mind. They did a stellar job with the Mother's Best shows. The second edition box-set is compact and affordable for a 16 disc set.I now regard Time-Life as an indication of quality that is affordable. Just think how expensive the Mother's Best collection would have been if Bear Family had gotten control of it.

    Let me tell you how I discovered Hank. It was from Bob Dylan's 1978 World Tour. Dylan delivered 27-30 songs, some of them really long, in a concert lasting 2 1/2 hours or more. So he divided the concerts into two sets with an intermission in the middle. At every show during the intermission Dylan played a cassette tape of Hank's greatest hits. He gave a couple of interviews that year in which he talked about how important Hank Williams was to him and that he was playing the tape to hopefully get people interested in listening to Hank.

    I must say the Hank Williams library has increased by leaps and bounds since then.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2017
  17. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff Thread Starter

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    I have the "Singles Collection", does that contain everything on "40 Greatest Hits"?
     
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  18. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    Short answer is yes.

    The one difference is the great posthumous single "Weary Blues From Waiting" - the Singles Collection uses the original demo recording while 40 Greatest Hits uses the single version, which is the same recording with overdubs. Either is good. From Wikipedia:

    Although Williams had been found dead in his chauffeur-driven Cadillac on his way to a show in Canton, Ohio on New Year's Day, 1953, he was still arguably MGM's hottest act by summer; two albums were in stores by March, Memorial Album and Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter, and within ten weeks of his death he had as many albums on the market as he did when he lived, with hundreds more to follow. As biographer Colin Escott observes, "Hank's entire catalog began moving in unprecedented quantities...The oil well that Hank Williams became in death started to gush." Like Elvis Presley over two decades later, Williams became even larger in death than he had been in life, and MGM capitalized on Hank's growing legend by exploiting the LP market and issuing its remaining Hank recordings as singles.

    "Weary Blues from Waiting" had likely been recorded as a demo some time in 1951. The Drifting Cowboys, most of them now working for Ray Price, were brought back to augment the recording with overdubs. While MGM would insensitively overdub strings and other accoutrements to Hank's masters as the years wore on, the results on "Weary Blues from Waitin'" were utterly convincing, and the single rose to #7 on the country singles chart. (FYI the single was released on July 8, 1953, just six months and a week after Hank died.)
     
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  19. PonceDeLeroy

    PonceDeLeroy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maryland
    Is there a version of this WITH some Hadacol commercials? I am interested in hearing the commercials.
     
  20. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff Thread Starter

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    Thanks for the info, I have been considering buying "40 Greatest Hits" on Vinyl from the company Music On Vinyl, this might just persuade me to grab a copy.
     
  21. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    Definitely get it on vinyl, it was designed for that format and it's a tighter collection. I got it first and got the Singles Plus set because I wanted more, in this case the later demos and home recordings (priceless). But most of the early pre-MGM recordings on Singles Plus aren't as good as the MGM classics (the one standout, which was reissued later as an MGM single, can be found on 40 Greatest Hits). That's not a knock on Singles Plus because it fills all three CD's whereas 40 Greatest Hits leaves plenty of room, but again that's just on CD - 40 Greatest Hits was a godsend in the vinyl era, the first major compilation to use the original singles and collecting almost all of the major works in one place.
     
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  22. Andrew1967

    Andrew1967 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    I have loved the two disc set since it's release. For those of you who listen to vinyl, I highly recommend the Japanese box called 'The Immortal Hank Williams'. It's my favorite Hank Sr. It also seems to have come down in price over the last few years. I got a near mint copy on discogs for about $60.00 The 2 lp versions of the Polydors are nice too if you can find them. The early mono lps turn up used for decent prices as well. There is no bad Hank Sr really, providing you stay away from fake stereo and overdubs.
     
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  23. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    Can you provide a link to The Immortal Hank Williams? is it free of fake stereo and overdubs? I just want to review the contents etc.
     
  24. Andrew1967

    Andrew1967 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oklahoma
  25. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia
    got some questions I had answered by this thread. thanks
     
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