Gold

He's the "Gentle Giant" of country music, and now finally there's an anthology worthy of his stature: 40 tracks licensed from ABC, MCA, Capitol and RCA, including 35 Top 10 country hits! I Believe in You; I Wouldn't Want to Live If You Didn't Want Me; You're My Best Friend; (Turn Out the Light and) Love Me Tonight; Till the Rivers All Run Dry; I'm Just a Country Boy; Tulsa Time; It Must Be Love; Love Me Over Again; If Hollywood Don't Need You; Heartbeat in the Darkness; That's the Thing About Love; Say It Again and more. Fantastic collection!

In his heyday, fans went to Don Williams concerts like they went to church--quietly, reverently. They might approach this set, with its 16 No. 1 hits, with similar devotion. The skeletal, small-band country-folk sound frames his guileless baritone so delicately that one could make a case for Williams as one of the fathers of New Age music. But these singles, no matter how soft and simple, refuse to recede into the background. That's partly because of the sing-along melodies, but mostly because he conveys these lyrics--which could be artsy ("Good Ole Boys Like Me") or brazenly direct even by Nashville standards ("You're My Best Friend")--with irresistible warmth, intimacy, and empathy. Forty songs may add up to more time than you care to spend in church in one sitting, but if you have this, you'll never need another Williams CD. --John Morthland