Jim Reeves (1923-1964) was perhaps the quintessential country crooner, a velvet-voiced manly-man who took Nashville about as far as possible into the world of 1950's-style pop vocals. In 1964, Reeves died in a small airplane crash, and was instantly canonized as a Music City saint; following his death there came a decades-long string of posthumous releases, a flood of "product" that can sometimes seem a bit ghoulish... And yet, Reeves has some of the most loyal fans Nashville has ever produced. Here's a quick look at his work.

Jim Reeves "The Best Of Jim Reeves" (RCA Victor, 1964) (LP)
As you'll see below, Jim Reeves was a remarkably prolific recording artist, and there was a lot of stuff to choose from, though if you ask me, pretty much anything that came out after his death on July 31, 1964 qualifies as a "best of," even though only a few LPs were explicitly branded that way. Naturally, this one is is pretty strong, with irresistible classics such as "Four Walls" and "He'll Have To Go" and others which may evoke nostalgic responses in folks who are even older than I am, like "Billy Bayou" and Adios Amigo." I'll pass on "Danny Boy, though.

Jim Reeves "The Best Of Jim Reeves, v.2" (RCA Victor, 1965) (LP)

Jim Reeves "The Best Of Jim Reeves, v.3" (RCA Victor, 1969) (LP)

Jim Reeves "The Essential Jim Reeves" (RCA-Nashville, 1995)
A straight-up pop vocalist who just happened to have early country roots, Texas crooner Jim Reeves was both a big RCA cash cow, and an early industry martyr, dying in a tragic 1964 plane crash just as his star was at its zenith. Reeves was one of RCA's biggest artists, but he was at heart a slushy pop singer, as is adequately proven on this disc. Still, this disc has his great hit weeper, "He'll Have To Go," which by itself is worth the price of admission. Penetrating, haunting, soulful beyond all reasonable expectations, "He'll Have To Go" is a truly colossal tune, and is essential to any fan of the Nashville Sound. This set has his biggest hits; to delve deeper into his early hillbilly years as well as his later pop-country fusions, check out the more comprehensive multi-disc sets listed below.

Jim Reeves "Live At The Grand Ole Opry" (Audium Records/Country Music Foundation, 1987)
For an interesting look at Reeves's early career -- before the crooner persona really set in -- this set of live appearances at the Opry is something of an eye-opener. Reeves is pretty personable and heck, even sounds a little like a hick on many of these tunes, even on his big hits (which sound a lot slicker in their studio versions). I confess, I'd always been rather averse to Reeves's work until I heard this album... and then I had to modify my opinion a bit. Recommended!

Jim Reeves "RCA Country Legends" (BMG Heritage, 2002)
An updated standard set, which mirrors the old Essentials album in some ways, but branches off into new terrain, including several different tracks. They're both fine options for a budget-line introduction to Reeves's work, but they're also both clearly superseded by the more comprehensive Anthology set, reviewed below.

Jim Reeves "Welcome To My World" (Bear Family Records, 1994)
Jiminy cricket! A 16-CD box set, all devoted to the velvet-voiced countrypolitan king? Almost unimaginable... But if you're a diehard Jim Reeves fan -- and there are plenty of them out there -- this gigantic retrospective, outtakes and alternate versions included -- is pretty much the ultimate collection.

Jim Reeves "Gentleman Jim: 1955-59" (Bear Family Records, 1994)
This set focuses, more demurely, on Reeves's early years... It includes some of his more "hillbilly" material, although it also encompasses entire theme albums, including a gospel record, and a series of songs with different women's names.

Jim Reeves/Various Artists "Radio Days, v.1" (Bear Family Records, 1999)
But wait -- there's more! Four CDs worth of the Jim Reeves radio show, with Gentleman Jim singing between the stage patter, and plenty of guest performers, including Chet Atkins, Jean Shepard, The Louvin Brothers, and several tracks by Reeves's backup band, The Blue Boys, all recorded for the US Armed Forces radio service, in the late 1950s and early '60s.

Jim Reeves/Various Artists "Radio Days, v.2" (Bear Family Records, 2001)
Another 4-CD set with guest appearances by Ernest Tubb, Jimmy Dean, The Louvin Brothers, Carl Butler and others.

Jim Reeves "Anthology" (BMG Heritage, 2003)
This 2-CD set is a considerable improvement on BMG's previous standard-issue best-of package, doubling the playlist of the Essential and RCA Legends collections, offering fully 20 more classic tunes, and a much fuller picture of Reeves's too-brief career. Previously omitted gems include peppy early hits like "Mexican Joe" and "Bimbo," as well as forgotten country gems such as "Drinking Tequila" and a surprisingly vigorous version of Jimmie Rodgers' "Waiting For A Train." The big countrypolitan smashes are also included -- "Four Walls," "Blue Boy," "He'll Have To Go" -- and a generous smattering of his later sessions from the early '60s. All in all, a pretty classy set which should help flesh out this country crooner's too-brief career, and which should remain the standard Reeves collection for years to come.

Jim Reeves "Jim Reeves Sings" (Abbott Records, 1955) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Singing Down The Lane" (RCA Victor, 1956) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Bimbo" (RCA Victor, 1957) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Jim Reeves" (RCA Victor, 1957) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Girls I Have Known" (RCA Victor, 1958) (LP)

Jim Reeves "God Be With You" (RCA Victor, 1959) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Songs To Warm The Heart" (RCA Victor, 1959) (LP)

Jim Reeves "According To My Heart" (RCA-Camden, 1960) (LP)

Jim Reeves "The Intimate Jim Reeves" (RCA Victor, 1960) (LP)

Jim Reeves "He'll Have To Go" (RCA Victor, 1960) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Tall Tales And Short Tempers" (RCA Victor, 1961) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Talkin' To Your Heart" (RCA Victor, 1961) (LP)

Jim Reeves "The Country Side Of Jim Reeves" (RCA-Camden, 1962) (LP)

Jim Reeves "A Touch Of Velvet" (RCA Victor, 1962) (LP)

Jim Reeves "We Thank Thee" (RCA Victor, 1962) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Gentleman Jim" (RCA Victor, 1963) (LP)

Jim Reeves "The International Jim Reeves" (RCA Victor, 1963) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Good 'N' Country" (RCA-Camden, 1963)

Jim Reeves "Twelve Songs Of Christmas" (RCA Victor, 1963) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Kimberley Jim" (RCA Victor, 1964) (LP)
Includes songs from the soundtrack of Kimberley Jim, a film he starred in... Haven't seen it myself.

Jim Reeves "Moonlight And Roses" (RCA Victor, 1964) (LP)
(Produced by Chet Atkins)

Jim Reeves "Have I Told You Lately" (RCA-Camden, 1964) (LP)
(Produced by Chet Atkins)
I'm skipping the numerous albums from after the year of his death... at least for now. Who can keep track of it all? This album is mostly made up of stuff from his first RCA album, Singing Down the Lane from way back in 1856... So if you want to find some of his earlier, rootsier stuff, this one's a good shot. (Also worth noting: in the US, RCA's budget-line Camden album's often reissued earlier -- and in some cases rarer -- material, and often included twangier, more old-school songs from artists who had since gotten sucked into the posher, pop-oriented Nashville Sound. These albums can be real treats for twangfans.)

The Blue Boys "The Sounds Of Jim Reeves" (RCA Victor, 1966) (EP)
(Produced by Jim Malloy & Bill Vandevort)
Several years after Jim Reeves' death, his old band was still plugging away, giving the fans what they wanted. As "band albums" go, this is a pretty strong effort, with a careful though not antiseptic recreation of the smooth Reeves style... The arrangements are appropriately anodyne, while crooner Bug Logan sings lead on most tracks, paying tribute to Jim Reeves without slavishly replicating his vocal tone. Only a couple of tracks are semi-instrumentals, with a group of backup singers giving little, wordless "oooh-ooohs" alongside snoozy arrangements. Mostly though, this is a soft-country, Nashville Sound album that should be satisfying to Reeves fans who were looking for more.

• Wikipedia: Jim Reeves

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