Customer Reviews

Greatest Hits

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Horton died 9 years before I was born. I remember listening to my parent's copy of "Battle of New Orleans" and "Sink the Bismark" when I was a kid and loved it.

I picked up this CD a couple years ago so I could listen to my old childhood favorites. Besides the two songs above, I had never really heard Horton's other songs. But this entire CD is good! It's a breath of fresh air to hear someone sing about history and the frontier instead of the exclusive focus on sex and relationships of today's pop music/contemporary country.

From the earnest refrains of "Johnny Reb" to the wry humor of "Springtime in Alaska" and the swinging rythm of "Honky Tonk Man" this CD offers a lot of variety.

I don't give a lot of 5-star reviews and am mainly a fan of heavy metal but Horton is classic and timeless and 100% American.

Let's get down to brass tacks. This CD has all the hits Johnny Horton recorded during his truncated life, including his biggest hit, the patriotic "Battle of New Orleans" as well as "Sink the Bismarck." Aside from these two tunes and "North to Alaska," rest are pretty much filler, but so what? Those three tunes are all that matter anyhow.

The age of this collection rather shocked me, but it has certainly withstood the test of time. Johnny Horton was the ultimate balladeer, with a rich, mellow voice that clearly tells a story. His story was apparently over with all too soon, but the magic lives on. This collection of greatest hits is clearly timeless, and still manages to capture new audiences. The Battle of New Orleans has been performed by many artists, but Horton's rendition is still the classic. North to Alaska (They crossed the Yukon River and found the bonanza gold) and Springtime in Alaska (Where the cariboo crawl and the grizzly bear hug we did our dance on a Kodiac rug) will ALWAYS be a huge favorite to this reviewer. You had to be a little girl living in Alaska during statehood -- when Horton's songs would come on the jukebox and everyone would stand up and stomp and sing -- I still get a thrill remembering it. Every song in this collection tells a story well worth listening to, Comanche the Brave Horse (an ode to Custer's mount), the haunting sadness of Whispering Pines, Sink the Bismarck (we've got to sink the Bismarck, 'cause the world depends on us). If you haven't heard all the songs in this collection, well you OWE it to yourself. Also a very fun way to introduce a little history to a youngster!

The age of this collection rather shocked me, but it has certainly withstood the test of time. Johnny Horton was the ultimate balladeer, with a rich, mellow voice that clearly tells a story. His story was apparently over with all too soon, but the magic lives on. This collection of greatest hits is clearly timeless, and still manages to capture new audiences. The Battle of New Orleans has been performed my many artists, but Horton's rendition is still the classic. North to Alaska (They crossed the Yukon River and found the bonanza gold) and Springtime in Alaska (Where the cariboo crawl and the grizzly bear hug we did our dance on a Kodiac rug) will ALWAYS be a huge favorite to this reviewer. You had to be a little girl living in Alaska during statehood -- when Horton's songs would come on the jukebox and everyone would stand up and stomp and sing -- I still get a thrill remembering it. Every song in this collection tells a story well worth listening to, Comanche the Brave Horse (an ode to Custer's mount), the haunting sadness of Whispering Pines, Sink the Bismarck (we've got to sink the Bismarck, 'cause the world depends on us). If you haven't heard all the songs in this collection, well you OWE it to yourself. Also a very fun way to introduce a little history to a youngster!

From the time he captured America's heart with a rip-roaring rendition of "The Battle Of New Orleans" until his final release with "North To Alaska", Johnny Horton surprised, delighted and amazed us with his crossover country style, sung with a muted twang. Anyone who listened to his album fell in love with that voice, which was quite distinctive and quite a vehicle for everything he sang. From his plaintive "All For The Love Of A Girl" to a haunting rendition of "Whispering Pines", it was clear he was basically a very talented country singer, whether he was singing something very commercial like "Johnny Reb", "Comanche", or "Sink The Bismark" or something closer to his heart, like "The Mansion You Stole". He had a sense of humor, which he exhibited with songs like "When It's Springtime In Alaska, It's Forty Below". yet it was his range of subjects and versatility in terms of style that we found so attractive and so irresistable. Had he not left us so suddenly, taken from his fans so young, who knows what other treasures he might have left behind. Enjoy!

This album is worth the bucks. All his greatest hits are here and sound as fresh as they did when they were recorded. "Battle of New Orleans' amd 'Whispering Pines' are two of my favourites.

I had the vinyl version of this album 25 years ago. The newer CD is not exactly the same, but it still includes the biggest hits. My first exposure to Johnny Horton was through an oldies station in Los Angeles in the early 70's. They included "Sink the Bismarck" and "Johnny Reb" on their playlist, and since that time Johnny Horton has always occupied a place in my music collection. I like to think he had a lot more to offer before his life was so tragically cut short.

Marvellous stuff. If you're ever feeling down, just put on 'Sink the Bismark' or 'North to Alaska'. Personally, I find it difficult to listen to these songs without crying with laughter. And they're marvellous to do karaoke to. A unique talent.

For the person who is completely unfamiliar with Johnny Horton (whoever that might be anyway), this is THE PLACE to get started out. While this does overlook his early hits (Mean, Mean Son of A Gun, One Woman Man, Sal's Got A Sugarlip), it does give what most fans remember Johnny for-"Battle of New Orleans", "North To Alaska", etc. Sound quality is stellar on this package. This is the perfect intro to the man & his music.

Here's one of the all-time great Country music "Greatest Hits" albums with a baker's dozen of unforgettable pop-country tunes. The late Johnny Horton made a ton of great music during his short time with Columbia records (up until his premature death) and this is a nice sampling. This doesn't contain all of the essentials but everything here is great. And the CD version of this contains an extra track not on the original LP or cassette, the legendary "Honky Tonk Man". (One reviewer on here is reviewing an abridged version of this album that only has 8 songs on it. I've never seen this. I'm not sure he's reviewing the same disc.) At any rate, if you don't already own a Johnny Horton collection, there are a few different Sony compilations available now and this one is just as good as any.