Come On In : Columbia And Monument Country Hits 1972-1979

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Sonny James is usually considered to have experienced his prime during his stints with Capitol from the mid-'50s to the early '70s, when he notched numerous big country hits, including several chart-toppers. But while his Columbia and Monument charters of the 1970s weren't quite as monumental (and made yet less of an impression on the pop world than his Capitol hits had), they were hardly chopped liver as far as commercial success was concerned. All 22 of the songs on this compilation made the country charts, and while some did so just barely, half of them made the Top Ten (with "When the Snow Is on the Roses" and "Is It Wrong (For Loving You)" hitting number one). So it makes a good secondary James anthology, if not the best starter course. It's hard to say just what made Sonny such a hot commodity in these years, as he's not the most striking of country vocalists. Perhaps it was his very medium-temperature reliability, however, that ensured perennial popularity, along with a likable restrained delivery that sometimes sounded as if he were choking back more blatant emotions. And while some of this has mushy Nashville production, he wasn't averse to adding a bit of bluesy gospel ("White Silver Sands"), folksy acoustic guitar ("A Little Bit South of Saskatoon"), mariachi ("Little Band of Gold"), mild rockabilly ("Come on In"), or doo wop (a revival of Jack Scott's "What in the World's Come Over You"). He even took a cover of Sam & Dave's soul hit "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" into the country Top Ten in 1976, though his 1979 version of Joe Tex's "Hold What You've Got" wasn't nearly as popular. ~ Richie Unterberger