Jean Shepard "Honky-Tonk Heroine -- Classic Capitol Recordings: 1952-1964" (Country Music Foundation, 1995)
Stepping in to fill the decades-long dry spell in which Jean Shepard's best work remained out of print, the Country Music Foundation assembled this ripsnortin', rollicking collection of twenty-four of her hottest honkytonk songs, which remains the single best collection of her work to come out on CD in America. This collection is incredible -- it brings out the best of her hard-nosed honkytonk sensibility, with one kickass song after another. There are cheatin' songs and weepers like "Dear John," "Beautiful Lies" and "A Satisfied Mind," as well as thumping, upbeat hard country tunes such as "Twice The Lovin' (In Half The Time)" and "Sad Singin' And Slow Ridin'," performed with a forcefulness and fire that suggest an affinity for the rockabilly scene that was sizzling at the time that Shepard's career took off. On numerous songs, Shepard addresses the battle of the sexes, and on such definitive battle cries as "The Root Of All Evil (Is A Man)" and "Act Like A Married Man," she delivers her message with such power and authority you figure, that's it, game over: the gals win. One of her most striking songs, "Two Whoops And Holler," has Shepard denouncing the hypocritical sexual double standard that allows men to cheat and go out boozing, but condemns women who also want to have a little fun: "How come a man can fight and cuss and smoke and drink and chew/Step out on their wives and do the things they shouldn't do/But it's all right in the public's eye, they say he's just a man/But if a woman does one little thing, then she's not worth a ---" The hinted-at curse word alone ("damn!") was probably enough to raise a few eyebrows back when this one was recorded, but the song goes on to half-jokingly proposed a matriarchal revolution that would have made Andrea Dworkin proud. Although feminist themes run strong in Shepard's work, it's really the music that makes her so special: she was one of the best country singers of her generation, on equal footing to Carl Smith, George Jones, or anyone else you'd care to mention. This is still the only significant US reissue of her work out there... and it's well worth looking for (though now sadly out of print!) Highly recommended.
Jean Shepard "The Melody Ranch Girl" (Bear Family Records, 1995)
I lust after this collection, 5-CD box set gathering the best of her Capitol years, that I suppose I'll be able to afford someday, when my ship comes in. Since the stellar CMF collection listed above is now out of print, this may be the only place to hear Shepard's classic hits, at least until someone else wises up and makes these fab songs available again. If you can pick this up, you should. It's vital, vivacious hardcore honkytonk and heartsong galore... Highly recommended!
Jean Shepard "Songs Of A Love Affair/Heartaches And Tears" (EMI, 1999)
A generous, much-welcome twofer disc, combining two full albums, Songs Of A Love Affair from 1956 and 1962's Heartaches And Tears. A must-have reissue set!
Jean Shepard "This Has Been Your Life" (BACM, 2005)
Prime early works from one of the finest female country singers of the 1950s and '60s. Unlike most BACM releases, this does have some overlap with records that have come out on other labels. They're all great songs, though, classics like "Beautiful Lies," "Two Whoops And A Holler," "A Dear John Letter" and "Twice The Lovin' In Half The Time." There are also some great, more obscure songs, such as "Please Don't Divorce Me" and "I Didn't Know The Gun Was Loaded," which also make this a tasty, collectable treat. Besides, all those other CDs, including the big, fab Bear Family box set, are all out of print, which is criminal, really. So, hooray again for BACM bringing this stuff back to light.
Jean Shepard "Beautiful Lies: The Early Years" (Jasmine Records, 2009)
This single-disc set includes all the material from Shepard's 1956 debut album Songs Of A Love Affair, along with some of her best-known hits. Great stuff!
Jean Shepard "Songs Of A Love Affair" (Capitol Records, 1956) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Lonesome Love" (Capitol Records, 1959) (LP)
Jean Shepard "This Is Jean Shepard" (Capitol Records, 1959) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Got You On My Mind" (Capitol Records, 1961) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Heartaches And Tears" (Capitol Records, 1962) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Lighthearted And Blue" (Capitol Records, 1964) (LP)
Jean Shepard "It's A Man Every Time" (Capitol Records, 1965) (LP)
Jean Shepard & Ray Pillow "I'll Take The Dog" (Capitol Records, 1966) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Many Happy Hangovers" (Capitol Records, 1966) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Heart, We Did All That We Could" (Capitol Records, 1967) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Your Forevers Don't Last Very Long" (Capitol Records, 1967) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Heart To Heart" (Capitol Records, 1968) (LP)
Jean Shepard "A Real Good Woman" (Capitol Records, 1968) (LP)
Jean Shepard "I'll Fly Away" (Capitol Records, 1969) (LP)
An all-gospel album.
Jean Shepard "Seven Lonely Days" (Capitol Records, 1969) (LP)
Jean Shepard "The Best By Request" (Capitol Records, 1970) (LP)
Jean Shepard "A Woman's Hand" (Capitol Records, 1970) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Here And Now" (Capitol Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Larry Butler)
A surprisingly strong album, with Shepard not merely adapting to the conventions of the contemporary "sunshine country" sound, but dominating the style... She rode the wave like the old pro she was! Features plenty of well-known songs that were hits for others -- Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times," Conway Twitty's "Hello Darlin'," "Leavin' On A Jet Plane," "Snowbird" -- which she sang as well as the originals, if not better in some cases. There are also some noteworthy off-the-radar songs here as well, such as the mildly raunchy "Look At Mine" and Jerry Chesnut's super-verbose country gospel saga, "The Wonders You Perform," wherein Jesus gets credit for his sublime wisdom for letting a newborn child die at birth, rather than live life with some (unspecified) ailment. Um. Anyway, this was a pretty good record, considering when it was made... Shepard never really lost her edge!
Jean Shepard "Just As Soon As I Get Over Loving You" (Capitol Records, 1971) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Just Like Walkin' In Sunshine" (Capitol, 1972) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Slippin' Away" (United Artists, 1973) (LP)
Jean Shepard "I'll Do Anything It Takes" (United Artists, 1974) (LP)
Jean Shepard "Poor Sweet Baby" (United Artists, 1975)
Jean Shepard "I'm A Believer" (United Artists, 1975) (LP)
Jean Shepard "The Best Of Jean Shepard" (Gusto/Power Pak Records, 1975) (LP)
The cover photo isn't very flattering, but this late-edition set of re-recorded oldies is pretty fun, and her voice still sounds fine. Unfortunately the backup musicians aren't credited, but whichever collection of Nashville studio pros they were, they really put some feeling into it, particularly on the uptempo tunes that are clustered on Side One, such as the zippy version of "Second Fiddle To An Old Guitar" that kicks off the album. Red Sovine pitches in on a duet version of "Dear John," a classic weeper that sets the tone for Side Two, which has more maudlin material, notably "Two Little Boys" and a nice version of "The Key's In The Mailbox." Personally, the longer I've been listening to every single country record ever made, the more I've come to appreciate the value of faux greatest-hit/re-recording albums like this one... It's cool to hear what these great artists could do, even after their party was over...
Jean Shepard "Live At Good Time Country" (Birchfield Records, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by David DeBolt, David Kinter & Mark Russell)
A rare private-press album, recorded in concert at a mom'n'pop "opry" revue in Columbia, Missouri.
Shepard writes on the back cover that this was her first live album, which is pretty amazing considering all those years playing on tour and at the Opry. Good Time Country was a venue run by Robert Russell, Mike Sapp and Terry Sapp, who plays fiddle along with what I assume was the local house band. Shepard headlines on about half the tracks, with hometown gal Emily Reynolds taking the spotlight on three songs, while bass player Jim Whittaker closes the album with a cover of Wayne Kemp's "Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised," and one called "Bitter They Are," which may have been an original.
Jean Shepard "...And The Second Fiddles" (Hilltop Records, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by Benny Birchfield & Jack Linneman)
A tour souvenir album, with Shepard trying out some songs that weren't in her personal greatest-hits repertoire, tunes like "Crazy" "Midnight Flyer," and "Flowers On The Wall." On the back cover, she bemoans the Nashville studio system's habit of enlisting dozens of hired guns for every recording session, and lets us know that this album was basically just her backed by her own tour band, the Second Fiddles, which at the time included Benny Birchfield playing rhythm guitar, Jimmy Johnston (drums), Eddie Payne (lead guitar), Jim Whittaker (bass), and Jimmy Yates on steel... They are joined by pianist Robert Crigger and bluegrass legend Sonny Osborne, who sings harmony and plunks some banjo throughout. Although uncredited, gal singer Emily Reynolds sings lead on a couple of tunes, covers of "Broken Lady" and "Crazy," and though she seems a little show-boaty for a supporting singer, Shepard proves she's still got some chops with her dynamic yodeling on "Chime Bells."
Jean Shepard "Mercy/Ain't Love Good" (United Artists, 1976) (LP)
