A-Sides (1949-1957)

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Although Kitty Wells is mostly known for her early hit "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" (included here), she made quite a few other recordings in her early career, some of them very popular. While the packing of this anthology is basic, musically it's a very solid value-for-the-money collection of 28 tracks from roughly the first decade of her work as a solo performer. A half dozen of these are duets (with Red Foley, Roy Acuff, Webb Pierce, and Carol Sue Wright), but most feature only Wells on vocals. In arrangement and voice, these are more plaintive and basic than the material by female country stars who'd soon follow her, such as Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn. That's part of their appeal, however; it's straight-up country, more hillbilly than pop, without artifice. Themes common to country music then and now predominate: religious devotion, heartbreak and accusation, and honky tonkin', though the honky tonk beats are rather subdued in comparison to how they'd flower in the hands of others over the next decade or two. Wells isn't jubilant too often, but expresses herself with what was by the standards of her time refreshing candor, as well as supplying one of the more unusual country song titles of the era with "I Hope My Divorce Is Never Granted." There are better Wells retrospectives out there, but if you want one focusing on her early years, you won't find many more extensive anthologies than this 73-minute CD. ~ Richie Unterberger