Artist: Buck Owens
Title: Bakersfield Gold: Top 10 Hits 1959-1974 (Omnivore Recordings)
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Tell me more: Buck Owens scored a whopping 46 Top 10 hits — including 19 number one hits — between 1959 and 1974. Now that stellar parade of memorable hits he tracked with The Buckaroos, Rose Maddox, Buddy Alan, Susan Raye and others have been gathered together on the aptly-titled Bakersfield Gold.
A beautiful physical package (the audio CD version is reviewed here), the set features new liner notes from Randy Poe (author of Buck 'Em: The Autobiography Of Buck Owens) and historical images. The range of material extends from flashy uptempo cuts and duets to tender ballads. Enduring classics such as the bittersweet "Under The Influence of Love," the 1963 number one "Act Naturally" (later famously recorded by The Beatles and featuring lead vocals from Ringo Starr), tuneful "Love's Gonna Live Here," longing "I Don't Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)," rowdy "I've Got a Tiger By The Tail," bluegrass-adorned "Ruby (Are You Mad)" and lovely "It Takes People Like You (To Make People Like Me)."
Among the more interesting tracks on the collection are Owens' rousing cover of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" and a majestic musical reading of Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Bakersfield Gold is available on double-CD, triple-LP and via digital.
Robert Kinsler
