Ray Stevens - Ray Stevens - All-Time Greatest Hits

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Music reviews of Ray Stevens - All-Time Greatest Hits

Music Review: Nice hits/singles overview of talented novelty/pop artist
Rating: 4 Stars

His early efforts ("Ahab the Arab," "Gitarzan") drew heavily from the Coasters (to whom he paid tribute with his hit cover of Leiber & Stoller's "Along Came Jones"). His Southern roots showed through in the horn-heavy arrangements and swamp-blues influences. His music was somewhat ahead of the curve, with songs like "Harry the Hairy Ape" anticipating the good time tunes of Jim Croce and storytelling riffs of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant."

As he built his early career on novelty hits, his albums included impressive straight-pop ballads like "Funny Man" and the work-a-day "Unwind." His productions, especially those from the 1968 LP "Even Stevens," were sophisticated, bringing to mind the works of Joe South, B.J. Thomas, and Ron Dante's work with Barry Manilow.

After scoring with his early novelties, Stevens climbed into the top-100 and top-40 charts with "Unwind" and "Mr. Businessman" (the latter sounding like the socially conscious side of Billy Joel) in '68. He returned to novelties with "Gitarzan" and "Along Came Jones" in '69, a year that also saw the release of his "Have a Little Talk With Myself" LP. The album featured the first recorded version of Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Mornin' Comin Down," two years before Kristofferson's own debut, and Johnny Cash's hit. Not only was he able to write both serious and comic hits, but he had an ear for the songwriting talent of others.

In 1970, Stevens finally grabbed the top-spot on the chart with his gospel-influenced "Everything is Beautiful." His ode to tolerance, sounding perhaps a bit naive in the retrospective glare of 30 years passed, is filled with a sentiment that is still strikingly forceful. As a crowning achievement to one's career, it's a potent piece of punctuation.

But the #1 hit wasn't a full-stop in his hit-making. Throughout the 70s he continued to make the charts, reaching the top-100 with continued pleas for understanding ("America, Communicate With Me"), hauntingly produced ballads ("All My Trials"), gospel ("Turn Your Radio On"), country ("Nashville" "Everybody Needs a Rainbow"), and even more novelties ("Bridget the Midget").

In 1974 he returned to the top of the charts with one of his most successful novelties, "The Streak," forever capturing a moment of popular culture with his song. Like most event-based novelties, this one sounds dated (wonderfully so, in a way) as the distance to the event grows long. Its reach isn't as broad and its sentiments aren't as universal as songs that capture a mood (such as "Everything is Beautiful"), but the flash photo of a mid-70s craze is still vivid.

This collection finishes out with Stevens' mid-70s recastings of pop standards, including a reworking of Erroll Garner's "Misty" in a country/bluegrass vein, "Indian Love Call" as doo-wop, and "Young Love" as a Righteous Brothers/Hall & Oates styled blue-eyed soul ballad. In many ways these are a perfect encapsulation of Stevens' career: superb musicianship and production wedded to an original idea, all executed with more than a touch of whimsy.

Varese's collection includes the high points of Stevens' singles career through the end of his association with Andy Williams' Barnaby label in the mid-70s. His later work for Warner Brothers ("In the Mood" "I Need Your Help Barry Manilow"), RCA ("Shriner's Convention") and MCA ("Mississippi Squirrel Revival"), can be picked up on other collections, such as Rhino's "The Best of Ray Stevens," though you'll also pick up a lot of duplicate tracks.

Description of Ray Stevens - All-Time Greatest Hits

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• Music > Styles
• Miscellaneous
• Pop