This 18-track compilation covering the first half of Marty Robbins' recording career is almost an exact duplication of a chronological list of Robbins' biggest country hit singles of the period, the only exception being "I Can't Quit Her (I've Gone Too Far)," and which, while a Top Ten entry, was not as big a hit as "She Was Only Seventeen (He Was One Year More)," which has been left out. (No one seems to have told annotator Rich Kienzle, who mentions the missing track and not the included one.) That means Robbins' 11 chart-toppers are here, from "I'll Go on Alone" to "Ribbon of Darkness," with such massive hits as "Singing the Blues," "El Paso," "Don't Worry," and "Devil Woman" in between. The songs, 11 of which were written by Robbins himself, are amazingly diverse, covering country, Western, pop, and folk styles, but the set is held together by Robbins' warm, country-tinged voice. The only objection to this disc is that, at only 49-plus minutes, it could have been longer by half.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo