I'm Little But I'm Loud (Audio Cassette) [Import]

But of all the Country Music Hall of Fame members [he was inducted in 1982], his original hit singles remain among the hardest to find in one spot. To that end the multi-disc Bear Family set comes closest, although there are items missing there too, including 1954's Out Behind The Barn, and it's just a bit expensive for something that is not complete.

This one from Razor & Tie of New York isn't too bad in that regard, but in a 22-selection compilation they also include way too many tracks that were either failed singles or which we simply do not associate with Jimmy. These would be 7 to 10 and 12 to 16, although I guess they had to include track 7 since it was their choice for the CD's title after all. But others, such as Y'All Come [Arlie Duff] and Take Me As I Come [Ray Price] are more associated with other artists, even though he did write some of them.

You do, however, get 11 of the 19 hit singles he registered between 1949 and 1972, along with one B-side, although in that instance [Life Turned Her That Way] they omit the hit A-side [He Stands Real Tall - # 21 in May 1965].

Hit first eight Columbia hits are here, beginning with the double-sided smash Take An Old Cold Tater (And Wait} b/w Pennies For Papa. The A-side reached # 7 in May 1949 and the flip then charted in September, reaching # 12 - both billed to Jimmie Dickens. In between, Country Boy peaked at # 7 in July, and even as Pennies For Papa was charting, My Heart's Bouquet was on its way to # 10.

In 1950 he added two more, A-Sleepin' At The Foot Of The Bed [# 6 in February] and Hillbilly Fever [# 3 in May], then faced a 4-year drought before returning to the charts in September 1954 with Out Behind The Barn which levelled off at # 9.

Then came a long 8-year gap before he returned, still with Columbia, with one of my favourite Jimmy Dickens tunes, the mmelancholy The Violet And A Rose which reached # 10 in December 1962. Another full year would then pass before Another Bridge To Burn topped out at # 28. It seems his audience preferred to see the comical Jimmy rather than hear serious tunes, and this is borne out by the fact that his next hit didn't come until July 1965 when the above-mentioned He Stands Real Tall became yet another medium hit.

So, that October, he obliged them with one of the funniest songs ever put to record - May The Bord Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose - which not only became his best hit ever [and only # 1], but also reached # 15 on the Billboard Pop Hot 100. I always though the follow-up When The Ship Hit The Sand was just as funny, but it only made it to # 27 in MArch 1966, followed that July by Who Licked The Red Off Your Candy [# 41]. Neither of those is included here.

His last Columbia hit, however, is here. That came in May 1967 when Country Music Lover made it to # 23. On all but his first two gits for the label they had billed him as "Little" Jimmy Dickens. Moving over to Decca, they dropped the "Little" for How To Catch An African Skeeter Alive [# 69 in July 1968] and When You're Seventeen [# 55 in February 1969], but again neither is here. They do, however, include his third and last Decca hit, (You've Been Quite A Doll) Raggedy Ann, which stalled at # 75 in May 1970.

His final two hits, also as Jimmy Dickens, came for United Artists , with Everyday Family Man reaching # 70 in February 1971, and Try It, You'll Like It going to # 61 in May 1972.

As with any Razor & Tie product the sound reproduction is excellent and you do get informative liner notes. Easily the best of the North American releases as mosty of the others available offer up remakes.

Jean Flynn
Anchorage, Alaska