(Mercury) Though most of this material has been previously released, primarily on the 1998 The Complete Hank Williams 10 disc box set, these 18 tracks of vocal-guitar live and demo songs are a very worthwhile addition for those who can't afford the price tag of the box set. The songs included on Alone With His Guitar are just that, Hank accompanied only by his guitar and the raw grit and emotion of his voice that shows why he connected with so many people in his time and why he continues to do so more than 50 years later. The audio quality varies from song to song due to age and the limited technology of the day, however most have held up extraordinarily well and the very soul of Hank Williams comes shining through.

The first 10 songs are live cuts, taken from his early 1949 appearances on Shreveport, Louisiana's 'Louisiana Hayride' shows on KWKH. At this point, Hank was given a 15 minute spot that ran at various times between 5:30 and 8 AM, where he sang songs by other artists and since pay was minimal to keep his expenses low, he performed accompanied only by his guitar. The most striking thing about these songs is the emotional expressiveness and raw beauty of Hank's voice, and the way, even though he knew at that hour of the day few people were probably listening, he poured his heart into the songs as though he were singing to thousands of people. 

The live cuts open with Hank's youthful, laid back Alabama twang effortlessly covering Jimmie Work's "Tennessee Border" which was a big hit at the time, with artists that include Red Foley, Tennessee Ernie Ford and Jimmie Skinner rushing out their own versions. In his rendition of Ernest Tubb's obscure "First Year Blues," Hank replaces Ernest's irony with bitter resignation. He takes on another obscure song, the bluesy "Blue Love (In My Heart) which was written by the prolific Fred Rose under his pseudonym 'Floyd Jenkins.' Hank slips into a hillbilly falsetto on the haunting "Please Don't Let My Love You," which was the B-side of George Morgan's "Candy Kisses." The one Hank Williams penned song among these live cuts his is hauntingly bleak and painful "Alone And Forsaken" which he delivers in a powerful and stark rendition. "You Caused It All" was written and first recorded by Clyde Moody, which begins abruptly, most likely due to editing out a commercial, and was the only song his original label MGM never released and first showed up on the box set. "With Tears In My Eyes" was written by Paul Howard and became a hit for Wesley Tuttle, however Hank delivers an emotion filled version in contrast to Tuttle's lackadaisical approach. "Rockin' Chair Money," written by Lonnie Glosson and Bill Carlisle can be seen as an early blueprint for what would go on to later become rockabilly, with it's brisk tempo and rockabilly attitude and vocabulary. As Hank cruises through this one, you can almost hear the ghost of a slapping bass and electric guitar chugging along with him. Hank takes on the Sons Of The Pioneers' "Cool Water" and transforms it into a haunting blues. On the last of the live songs, Hank tips his hat to one of his greatest influences Roy Acuff, by covering the Fred Rose penned "We Live In Two Different Worlds," which Acuff performed often on the Opry before finally recording it in 1945. 

The lone session recording on Alone With His Guitar is "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It," an old blues song that Hank was trying to convince Fred Rose he should record. Rose was against it due to it's reference to beer, but Hank persevered and eventually won. On this simple, stripped down version, Hank easily proves, in outstanding fashion, he was indeed the last of the original real 'white blues' singers. The rest of the songs on the disc are demo recordings made to pitch songs to his label. The mournfully tender "A Teardrop On A Rose" is a song Hank wrote and later pitched to former bandmate, Braxton Schuffert, who called it one of the loveliest songs he'd ever heard. "Honky Tonk Blues" is classic Hank Williams- straight up blues that includes the famous Williams yodel. "Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine" is a song penned by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart, and it's said that Pee Wee asked Hank to cut the demo to pitch the song to Roy Acuff. Hank delivers a moving version and Acuff cut the song in 1951. Hank wrote a pair of songs he pitched to his protégé Ray Price. On "Weary Blues From Waiting" Hank gives a positively chilling rendition of his song of pain and regret. The mournful, high-lonesome sound of "I Can't Escape From You" is his final pain filled valentine to his about-to-be ex-wife Audrey. Hank wrote "I Could Never Be Ashamed Of You" for his new love and soon-to-be next wife Billie Jean Jones. The last track on Alone With His Guitar shows Hank working out "Kaw-Liga" which he co-wrote with Fred Rose. The song came about while Hank was at rock bottom, he and Billie Jean had separated and he'd been fired from the Opry. He was holed up at a cabin in Alabama and while on his way to visit a bootlegger near Lake Kowaliga one night, he started drumming "Kaw-Liga, Kaw-Liga" on the dashboard. Fred came down to visit Hank, and they finished the song, which turned out to be the last song Hank recorded before he died and it became a #1 hit 8 weeks after his death.

As the liner notes state, these simple vocal-guitar tracks "leaves nowhere to hide, and it was in this context that Hank was at his most riveting." These performances provide a warm, intimate look at a man playing songs on his guitar who would ultimately go on to leave behind his mark which would indelibly change the world of music from that point on.

AnnMarie Harrington TakeCountryBack August 2003