Over the course of these 20 tracks, listeners get to encounter the rare and focused genius that was
Gary Stewart. Covering his career from the late '60s through the 1970s while he was with RCA, these songs testify to a fine singer and interpreter, a great pianist and guitarist, and a singular songwriter. Among the many gems here -- there's nary an unnecessary cut in the bunch -- are his anthems "Drinkin' Thing" and "Out of Hand" as well as many of his stellar but underappreciated singles, including "She Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles)," his fine interpretations of
Danny O'Keefe's "Quits" and
Michael Murphey's "Backsliders' Wine," and his rather raucous original "Flat Natural Born Good-Timin' Man."
Stewart was really a cross-genre artist who rocked as hard as he twanged and had more in common with
Jerry Lee Lewis than he did with
George Jones, and
Essential testifies to this in spades. ~ Thom Jurek