Artist: Hank Williams
Album: Pictures from Life’s Other Side
Label: BMG
Release Date: 2.7.2020
The man and his music in rare photos and recordings
This six-CD box set could just as easily be called a book set, for the 272 page coffee table book that comes with it holds equal importance with the rarity of the live performances presented. It seems somewhat ironic that all this music (144 tracks ) was once dumpster-bound, until Grand Old Opry photographer Les Leverett came to its rescue.
What we have here—thanks to one very alert photographer and audio engineer/preservationists Alan Stoker of The Country Music Hall of Fame and Michael Graves on the West Coast—are now pristine recordings of WSM radio transcriptions of Williams’ Mother’s Finest Flour daily morning show. All of it aired in the year of 1951.
Hank was at the absolute height of his popularity then, and as a result had an unbelievable touring schedule, one that helped contribute to his “leaving the building” at the ripe young age of 29, 67 years ago. To make it sound like he was live on the radio Monday through Friday, he and his Drifting Cowboys, who were actually crisscrossing the country on the Lost Highway, pre-recorded the shows on acetates. They were probably only played once and filed away. I can’t say enough about how great they sound. You would swear that Williams, along with Don Helms, Jerry Rivers, Sammy Pruett, and Cedric Rainwater, were in the room with you—not just coming through the air waves, but right there.
Yes, there are some repeated songs, there have to be, as the recordings cover 77 shows, plus he had already placed most of his signature tunes on the charts by then. Mixed in is a heavy dose of gospel tunes and some real evergreens from some of the leading songwriters and performers of that time, like Moon Mullican, Scotty Wiseman, Jimmie Davis, Bob Nolan, Irving Mills and more, including Williams’ mentor, publisher Fred Rose.
The book is far more than just a beautifully-produced photo book. Some prints are very rare, coming from estate collections of performer friends, some are unpublished and there are even a few in color. All are restored to a sheen and sharpness that makes the book a delight to look at, especially while the music is playing. Many of them are full page and have an intensity that reinforces his legacy. The texts are brief, very well written and equally revealing of who Hank Williams was and why he mattered so much to so many.
—Ken Spooner
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