Roger Miller - King Of The Road: The Genius Of Roger Miller at Music Hills.com

Music CD 1

My Pillow
Poor Little John
A Man Like Me
The Wrong Kind Of Girl
Jason Fleming
A World So Full Of Love
When A House Is Not Home
You Don't Want My Love
When Two Worlds Collide
Sorry, Willie
So Saith He The Lord
Lock Stock And Teardrops
Ain't That Fine
Less And Less (Original Version)
Chug-A -Lug
Lou's Got The Flu
The Moon Is High (And So Am I)
Dang Me
It Takes All Kinds To Make A World
Reincarnation
Hard Headed Me
Do Wacka Do
Atta Boy Girl
Our Hearts Will Play The Music

Music CD 2

King Of The Road
As Long As There's A Shadow
You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd
Heartbreak Hotel
Big Harlan Taylor
One Dyin' And A-Buryin'
The Last Word In Lonesome Is Me
It Happened Just That Way
Engine #9
Kansas City Star
England Swings
I've Been A Long Time Leavin' (But I'll Be A Long Time Gone)
Husbands And Wives
Train Of Life
Dad Blame Anything A Man Can't Quit
You're My Kingdom
My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died
Home
Absence
Ruby (Don't Take Your Love To Town)
Walkin' In The Sunshine
A Million Years Or So
Pardon This Coffin

Music CD 3

The Ballad Of Waterhole #3
Old Toy Trains
Little Green Apples
What I'd Give To Be The Wind
Boeing Boeing 707
Treat Me Like A Human (Outtake)
What Are Those Things (With Big Black Wings)
Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line
Swiss Cottage Place
Me And Bobbie McGee
Where Have All The Average People Gone
The Best Of All Possible Worlds
Invitation To The Blues
Tall, Tall Trees
Don't We All Have The Right
That's The Way I Feel
Half A Mind
Hoppy's Gone
What Would My Mama Say
Orange Blossom Special (Live Version)
Old Friends
Guv'ment (From Big River)
River In The Rain (From Big River)

Music reviews of King Of The Road: The Genius Of Roger Miller

Music Review: A great box set that could've been even greater
Rating: 4 Stars

The main problem with the current in-print catalog of Roger's songs is that the majority (okay, nearly ALL) of the releases are "best-ofs" and "greatest hits" than only offer 10-15 tracks...or 20, at best. Considering the brevity of most of Roger's songs (most are around the 2-minute mark), you're looking at CDs that clock in at 20-40 minutes. While the music is undoubtably great, these discs are underselling Roger's other works. Shockingly, none of Roger's original Smash albums are available in their entirety anymore. They may be some of the last great country albums not to be reissued in the CD age.

This box set does a great job of compiling all of the key points of Roger's career, from the mid 50s country sessions to the early 60s RCA sessions, to the famous Smash years, and beyond. Most of the essential tracks are here, and as such, it's the only in-print release that even comes close to being comprehensive. The Bear Family "King of the Road" single CD is a nice companion that collects the full RCA sessions (his most underrated work, in my opinion). Other than that, there is little on CD that hasn't been covered by this box.

My only beef is that this box doesn't quite take up the room available on the 3 CDs. More great songs from Roger's career could've been squeezed on here. Maybe I'm nitpicking, but when a song like "Every Which-a-Way" is missing, you aren't getting a definitive package. Still, this box is the best thing out there and it comes highly recommended.

If I had my way, there would be a two CD set that collected the first four Smash albums: Dang Me, Return of Roger Miller, Third Time Around, and Words and Music...all remastered and presented in their entire glory. While the key tracks (i.e. the hits) from these albums are on the box set already, several more gems lay within these albums. Surely there is market out there for these originals album to see the light of day once again...

One final note...the box set here contains 4-5 tracks from Roger's 1970 album "A Trip in the Country" where Roger recorded his own versions of the songs he wrote for George Jones, Faron Young, and others in the late 50s and early 60s. This is truly the hidden gem within Roger's discography. Why this entire album isn't available is a mystery. Search for the original vinyl or enjoy the slice available on this box set. It shows just how important of a songwriter Roger was before the public had even heard of him.