The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams
| The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams |
|
| Studio album by Various artists |
| Released |
October 4, 2011 |
| Recorded |
Lou Bradley, Jack Frost, Mary Martin, |
| Genre |
Country |
| Length |
36:51 |
| Label |
Columbia Records, Egyptian Records, Third Man Records (Vinyl Release) |
The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams is a studio album by various artists. Country music singer Hank Williams died at age 29 on January 1, 1953. Police officers found in his car along with his body the lyrics for songs yet to be recorded. In 2006, a janitor of Sony/ATV Music Publishing found on a dumpster of the company the notes and tried to sell them to different road shows failing, the unfinished lyrics were later returned to Sony/ATV, which handed them to Bob Dylan in 2008 to complete and record them. Dylan and other artists each recorded a song for the album. The album was released on October 4, 2011.
Background
Hank Williams died suddenly in 1953, at the age of 29 while traveling to his next scheduled concert in new year in Canton, Ohio.[1] Inside his Cadillac, the police found the unfinished handwritten lyrics to songs that Williams never recorded.[2]
In 2006, a janitor of Sony/ATV Music Publishing found on a dumpster of the company the unfinished lyrics written by Williams that were found in his car the night he died. The worker claimed that she sold Williams' notes to a representative of the Honky-Tonk Hall of Fame and the Rock-N-Roll Roadshow. The employee was accused of theft, but the charges were later dropped when a judge determined that the version of the janitor was true. The unfinished lyrics were later returned to Sony/ATV, which handed them to Bob Dylan in 2008 to complete the songs for an album release. Dylan completed one song; others were completed by Alan Jackson, Norah Jones, Jack White, Lucinda Williams, Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell, Patty Loveless, Levon Helm, Jakob Dylan, Sheryl Crow and Merle Haggard. The album, named The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams was released on October 4, 2011.[3][4]
Reception
Neil Spencer in The Observer wrote: "The air of reverence hangs heavily, with Williams's droll humour and proto-rockabilly style largely absent [...] An entertaining exercise, though of Hank's celebrated yodel there is, alas, no sign."[6] Entertainment Weekly described the artist performances as: "original melodies, some too wan for the strength of the lyrics, which range from the deeply romantic to the corrosively aggressive."[7]
The Daily Telegraph rated the album four stars out of five with a favorable review: "It is rare that any posthumous release becomes an essential part of an artist’s canon, and the very simplicity of Williams’s oeuvre mitigates against declaring classic status for lovingly crafted yet essentially minor songs. But the album is a beauty, none the less, the care put into it confirming Williams’s exalted position in the tower of song".[8] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the artists selected "treat it with respect but not undue reverence, something that unites all the artists here", and calls it "something real, imperfect, and resonant".[9]
Track listing
Chart performance
| Chart (2011) |
Peak
position |
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums |
11 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 |
42 |
References
- ^ Koon, George William p.77
- ^ Koon, George William p.79
- ^ Flippo, Chet (August 25, 2011). "Nashville Skyline: Hank Williams' Life After Death". Country Music Television (MTV Networks). http://www.cmt.com/news/nashville-skyline/1669697/nashville-skyline-hank-williams-life-after-death.jhtml. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ "The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams to be released in October". bobdylan.com. http://www.bobdylan.com/news/lost-notebooks-hank-williams-be-released-october. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- ^ "The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams". MetaCritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/the-lost-notebooks-of-hank-williams. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
- ^ a b Spencer, Neil (October 2, 2011). "The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams – review". The Observer. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/02/hank-williams-lost-notebooks-review. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- ^ a b Tucker, Ken (October 4, 2011). "The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20532530,00.html. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- ^ a b McCormick, Neil (September 29, 2011). "Various Artists: The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams, CD review". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/8796924/Various-Artists-The-Lost-Notebooks-of-Hank-Williams-CD-review.html. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (October 4, 2011). "The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/album/the-lost-notebooks-of-hank-williams-r2266020/review. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
Cited Books
- Koon, George William (2002). Hank Williams, so lonesome. University of Mississippi press. ISBN 9781578062836.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Songs |
|
|
| Family |
|
|
| Related Articles |
|
|
|
|
|
| Studio albums |
|
|
| Live albums |
|
|
| Compilations |
|
|
| The Bootleg Series |
|
|
| Tours |
|
|
| Films |
|
|
| Writings |
|
|
| Books about Dylan |
|
|
| Related articles |
|
|
- Book:Bob Dylan
- Category:Bob Dylan
- Portal:Bob Dylan
- WikiProject:Bob Dylan
|
|