The Singing Fisherman ［9CD+BOOK］

Johnny Horton's hits divide into two categories. First came the hardcore honky tonk, the tough and lean "I'm a One-Woman Man" and "Honky Tonk Man," 1956 hits that turned into often covered standards. These were eclipsed three years later by the historical sagas "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)," "The Battle of New Orleans," "Johnny Reb," "Sink the Bismarck," and "North to Alaska" -- a long stretch of narratives, some so corny they flirted with novelties, that arrived just before his tragic death from a car accident in 1960. His sudden death preserved his legacy in amber, with the historical songs eventually fading in the light of the legacy of those early sides for Columbia, songs that were frequently revived by the likes of George Jones and Dwight Yoakam. Despite this low-key revival, it still didn't quite convey the depth of Horton's career, nor did the CD reissues that hit the market in the '90s. Legacy released a stellar double-disc overview of the Columbia years in 1996 called Honky Tonk Man: The Essential Johnny Horton 1956-1960 but the serious overhaul of the catalog came from Bear Family, who released two separate boxes in 1991: the four-CD collection The Early Years, which contained all the Cormac, Abbott, and Mercury records, plus what was issued on Briar and Dot; and the four-disc 1956-1960, which had all of his Columbia records, including the posthumously issued overdubs. Thirteen years later, Bear Family revisited Horton via the mammoth The Singing Fisherman, a nine-disc set that combines remastered versions of the material from their two previous boxes and adds rarities not seen on either, including the extremely rare first record the singer ever cut. There are also two heavy hardcover books, one a standard Bear Family extravaganza featuring rare photos, album covers, a discography, and a biography by Colin Escott, the other a replica of a journal Horton's mother wrote about her son months after his death. The latter is a curio for longtime fans but the former helps place the music in context, something that's needed in a set so large. A fair portion of the box is dedicated to demos -- the last third is entirely devoted to demos, ranging from homemade sketches to full-blown run-throughs in a studio -- and while there are certainly interesting things here, the big story of The Singing Fisherman is indeed the big story, how it shows Horton wandering around through the early '50s before finding two separate successful commercial tracks on Columbia. Those early sides on Cormac, Abbott, and Mercury are eclectic -- there's honky tonk, hopping country-boogie, some folky narratives and Western swing -- but Horton never seems like he's fumbling; he slides each sound into his own casually confident style. His Mercury sides were his straightest honky tonk, pleasingly following Hank's path, but he stretched out more on Columbia, occasionally dipping into rockabilly, such as the walloping "Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor." That's why the heavily produced historical hits, some of them so shellacked in backing vocals they seem ready for Disneyland, are a bit of a disappointment, but beneath that he could kick up some dust, as "Cherokee Boogie" and "Ole Slew Foot" make plain. Ending his career on this note complicated Johnny Horton's standing in history: he died at the peak of stardom but not creativity. That's why The Singing Fisherman is valuable. It puts those big hits in perspective as its nine discs showcase a restless, inventive, charming country singer who sang most of the major country styles of the '50s and wound up putting his stamp on them all. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine