Hard to Be Humble: The Best of Mac Davis

Released nearly simultaneously with Raven's 2013 compilation A Little More Action Please: The Anthology 1970-1985, Hux's 2013 set Hard to Be Humble: The Best of Mac Davis is very similar in some ways to Raven's set and very different in others. At 22 tracks, it's one song shorter than the Raven collection and, of these 22 songs, 10 are shared with A Little More Action Please. Naturally, these are all big hits, either recorded by Mac himself or written for others: these include "In the Ghetto," "Memories," "Whoever Finds This, I Love You," "I Believe in Music," "Watching Scotty Grow," "Something's Burning," "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me," "One Hell of a Woman," "Stop and Smell the Roses," "Rock N Roll (I Gave You The Best Years of My Life)," and "It's Hard to Be Humble." The 12 songs exclusive to Hard to Be Humble showcase Mac Davis at his poppiest, finding space for the hits "If You Add All the Love in the World," "Burning Thing," and "Music in My Life," and generally choosing to showcase him at his slickest, sweetest, crowd-pleasing best. Comparatively, A Little More Action takes a funkier road, selecting songs that have a bit of soulful grit or writerly aspirations, such as "Poor Boy Boogie," "Lucas Was a Redneck," and "Texas in My Rear View Mirror." As for which compilation is better, it's all a matter of taste: if you happen to prefer AM pop, choose the Hux collection; if you like progressive country, go for the Raven. Both compilations are excellent, eclipsing Razor & Tie's 2000 comp, which didn't have as many hits as either of these, nor were its non-hit selections as interesting as those on the Hux and Raven collections. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine|