Reviewed by Dave Brassington

This DVD has been re-issued to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the death of the late great country crooner with an additional five recordings from Jim's many Grand Ole Opry shows. These include "An Evening Prayer" which I know was a particular favourite of Jim's. The first 17 tracks here are from Jim's TV appearances going as far back as the early '50s when "Mexican Joe" was a big country hit and when the singer's appearances were very western, complete with cowboy hat and sequinned suit! Down the years his image was to change as he donned lounge suits and became a smooth and sophisticated vocalist. Included are one of his early pop successes, "Four Walls", though here we see him recording in the RCA studios in Nashville with loads of violins - all very nice, but miles away from his original country sounds 10 years earlier. Brumley's "I'll Fly Away" gets a nice airing while "Aura Lee" is an interesting piece, an old song dating from the Civil War era which was re-written as "Love Me Tender" for the Elvis Presley movie debut. There is also an all too short portion of Jim's Norway concert, performed a few months before Jim's untimely death in July 1964. The one strange thing about this DVD is that there is no rendition of "He'll Have To Go", the song that made him an international country music star. However, we do get "In A Mansion Stands My Love" which was originally the "A" side of the record, before it got flipped by an enterprising DJ. That omission and the obvious hazy picture quality are the only drawbacks.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.