Don Gibson "The Singer - The Songwriter: 1949-1960" (Bear Family, 1991)
A lavish, 4-CD overview of Gibson's early years, with tracks from Mercury, Columbia and MGM, as well as his first big hits on RCA, such as "Blue, Blue Day" and "Oh, Lonesome Me." The earliest stuff is the most revelatory, revealing Gibson's hillbilly roots, relatively rough material that has the same bounce as his better-known hits, but more twang than we might imagine. Even back then, though, Gibson was a smoothie, and he also had a penchant for gimmicky motifs: an early success with a novelty number called "The Color Song" led to numerous spinoffs: "Roses Are Red," "Blue Million Tears," "Red Lips, White Lies And Blue Future," themes that would linger throughout his songwriting career. The third disc also includes an album's worth of gospel material, from his second LP, No One Stands Alone. This collection shows Gibson at his most vigorous -- it didn't take long for the "countrypolitan" sound to take over, but there's still some really fun stuff on here. Recommended!
Don Gibson "The Singer - The Songwriter: 1961-1966" (Bear Family, 1994)
Four more discs worth of Don Gibson in his prime... The Nashville Sound production style is taking over -- like a lot of his contemporaries, Gibson specialized in crooning pop vocals, but there's still some fun country twang in there, too. A tasty package for true fans!
Don Gibson "The Singer - The Songwriter: 1966-1969" (Bear Family, 2004)
Another four CDs worth of vintage RCA material... The later stuff this time around.
Don Gibson "RCA Country Legends" (Buddah, 2001)
This disc makes up for crooner Don Gibson's mysterious absence from RCA's late-'90s Essential series... Gibson's earliest hits, late '50s ditties such as "Oh Lonesome Me" and "Blue Blue Day," are marvels of compact, bouncy, melodic pop irresistibility. They're a near-perfect hillbilly distillation of the perkiness of classic 'Fifties rock, but with a polished quality that makes them all that much more delicious. Initially, Gibson tried to follow the basic pattern he'd set on these hits, repeating the loping downbeats on tunes such as "Sea Of Heartbreak..." But then he got "soft", or all croony and countrypolitan, which ultimately was a real drag. This disc sticks pretty closely to his earliest material -- all but two songs on here comes from 1958-1961, when Gibson was still regularly crossing over into the Pop charts. On later tracks, such as 1966's "Funny, Familiar, Forgotten Feelings" (an early Mickey Newbury composition) Gibson seems to have lost his pert, perky muse, but fans of early countrypolitan will also find a lot to cheer about on this collection. Recommended!
Don Gibson "20 Greatest Songs" (Varese Sarabande, 2001)
Well, these early '70s Hickory singles aren't the old RCA originals, but sometimes the rocked-up new arrangements add an interesting new twist to some great old songs. Not the album you'd want to get to introduce yourself to Gibson's ouvre, but a potential eye-opener for true country snobs (like me) who might have written him off by this point in his career.
Don Gibson "Anthology" (BMG-International, 2004)
A nice 2-CD set covering his RCA years, from 1957-1970... Includes a bunch of hits as well as some stuff a litle more off the beaten track.
Don Gibson "Don Gibson Rocks" (Bear Family, 2008)
Fun stuff! A snappy retrospective that concentrates on all his bouncy, uptempo early stuff... The kind of music you wish Gibson had stuck to after hitting the sound that made him famous to start with... If you loved "Oh Lonesome Me" and just want one Don Gibson CD that sounds like that... Well, here ya go!
Don Gibson "My God Is Real/I Walk Alone" (Collectables, 2004)
Don Gibson "I Love No One But You: The Early Years" (BACM, 2005)
Don Gibson "Oh, Lonesome Me" (RCA, 1958)
Don Gibson "No One Stands Alone" (RCA, 1958)
Don Gibson "That Gibson Boy" (RCA, 1959)
Don Gibson "Look Who's Blue" (RCA, 1958)
Don Gibson "Sweet Dreams" (RCA, 1960)
Don Gibson "Girls, Guitars And Gibson" (RCA, 1960)
Don Gibson "Some Favorites Of Mine" (RCA, 1962)
Don Gibson "I Wrote A Song" (RCA, 1963)
Don Gibson "God Walks These Hills With Me" (RCA, 1964)
Don Gibson "A Blue Million Tears" (RCA-Camden, 1965)
Don Gibson "Too Much Hurt" (RCA, 1965)
Don Gibson "...With Spanish Guitars" (RCA, 1966)
Don Gibson "Hurtin' Inside" (RCA-Camden, 1966)
Don Gibson "Great Country Songs" (RCA, 1966)
Don Gibson "All My Love" (RCA, 1967)
Don Gibson "I Love You So Much It Hurts" (RCA-Camden, 1968)
Don Gibson "The King Of Country Soul" (RCA, 1968)
Don Gibson "More Country Soul" (RCA, 1968)
Don Gibson & Dottie West "Dottie & Don" (RCA Victor, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Chet Atkins & Danny Davis)
A somewhat sleepy, sterile-sounding set of slow, soft countrypolitan duets. When they actually sing together, they harmonize beautifully. But mostly they just trade lines and come in on cue in the middle of the oh-so-safe, oh-so-unexciting studio arrangements. This is pretty much the epitome of Nashville's most boring work of the era, with everyone concerned sleepwalking themselves through the disc. I mean, their vocals are okay, but the music is a snooze.
Don Gibson "All-Time Country Gold" (RCA, 1969)
Don Gibson "Lovin' Lies" (RCA-Camden, 1970)
Don Gibson "Great Gibson" (RCA, 1970)
Don Gibson "Hits The Gibson Way" (Hickory, 1970)
Don Gibson "A Perfect Mountain" (Hickory, 1970)
Don Gibson "...Sings Hank Williams" (Hickory, 1971)
Don Gibson "Country Green" (Hickory, 1971)
Don Gibson "Woman Sensuous Woman" (Hickory, 1972)
Don Gibson & Sue Thompson "Two Of Us Together" (Hickory, 1972)
Don Gibson "Touch The Morning" (Hickory, 1973)
Don Gibson "The Very Best Of Don Gibson" (Hickory, 1973)
Re-recordings of some of his classic songs -- "Blue Blue Day," "Oh Lonesome Me," "Sweet Dreams" and some newer ones, like "Touch The Morning."
Don Gibson "Snap Your Fingers" (Hickory, 1974)
Don Gibson "Bring Back Your Love To Me" (Hickory, 1974)
Don Gibson "I'm The Loneliest Man" (Hickory, 1975)
Don Gibson "Oh How Love Changes" (Hickory, 1975)
Don Gibson "Don't Stop Loving Me" (Hickory, 1975)
Don Gibson "I'm All Wrapped Up In You" (Hickory, 1977)
Don Gibson "If You Ever Get To Houston" (Hickory, 1977)
Don Gibson "Starting All Over Again" (Hickory, 1978)
Don Gibson "Look Who's Blue" (Hickory, 1978)
Don Gibson (1928-2003) started his career in the 1940s and rose to fame on the wings of a string of giddy hits, late 1950s songs like "Blue, Blue Day" and "Oh, Lonesome Me" that had the bounce of early rock'n'roll, without the gritty teenage edge. A songwriter as well as a performer, Gibson was a major player in early '60s Nashville, and swiftly succumbed to the lure of lush "Nashville Sound" production and increasingly goopy poetics. The early stuff is the fun stuff, though there are some songs later on you might want to give a whirl... Here's a quick look at his work...
