This is a strange collection of
Bobby Bare tunes. It's hardly a best-of, as "Detroit City" and "Streets of Baltimore" are not in the contents. And the tunes seem to come from his Mercury and Camden periods with the possible exception of "Sunday Morning Comin' Down," from his last RCA set. The other strange thing is the copyright date on the back of the CD, which claims its first release (as if it were a real album) was in 1962, when the earliest tracks here date from 1970. Strangeness aside, it is a pretty choice collection of
Bare versions of tunes by
Kris Kristofferson -- "Lovin' Her Was Easier," "Me and Bobbie McGhee" and "For the Good Times" -- and a slew of
Tom T. Hall numbers including "That's How I Got to Memphis" and "The Year Clayton Delaney Died" among others. Also included are readings of
Joe South's "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home," and a completely sincere and moving take on
John Denver's "Leavin' on a Jet Plane." This is
Bare at his level best, the early '70s, out from under
Chet Atkins' oppressive countrypolitan mandate and paving the way for the outlaws like
Willie and
Waylon to do their own thing as well. Recommended.