Hank Williams

(2010/TIME LIFE) The complete Mother's Best Collection incl. 15 CDs and a DVD with unreleased recordings and unpublished photos plus a 120-page book written by Grammy-award winner and Hank Williams biographer Colin Escott! Strictly limited and only the European edition comes with an exclusive 12x12 jigsaw puzzle!

(2010/TIME LIFE). 15-CDs plus 1-DVD, Box mit 108-seitigem gebundenen Buch; exklusive limitierte Edition in Form eines alten Röhrenradios mit einem funktionierenden Bedienknopf. Insgesamt 365 Einzeltitel; Spieldauer ca. 17 Stunden 25 Minuten. Nur die europäische Edition kommt zusätzlich mit einem 30x30 cm großen Puzzle! -- Die CDs enthalten viele unveröffentlichte Aufnahmen, das Buch - geschrieben vom Grammy-Gewinner und Hank-Williams Biografen Colin Escott - liefert zuvor noch nie gesehene Fotos. Mit dieser Ausgabe erhöht sich die Zahl der bekannten Hank-Williams-Songs um fünfzig Prozent. Für die Klangbearbeitung zeichnet Grammy-Gewinner Joe Palmaccio verantwortlich. Die Bonus-DVD zeigt ein bewegendes Gespräch mit den beiden letzten noch lebenden Mitgliedern von Hanks Mother's Best Band. -- Für seine Mother's Best Radiosendungen nahm Hank Williams Songs auf, die er nirgendwo anders aufnahm, wie z.B. 'Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain', 'Cool Water', 'Lonely Tombs', 'On Top Of Old Smoky'. Einige seiner späteren Hits sang er hier zum ersten Mal, so 'Cold, Cold Heart', das er nur wenige Tage zuvor geschrieben hatte. Die Aufnahmen wurden auf Azetaten gespeichert, 40cm-Platten. Sie lagerten in der Radiostation WSM (die auch die Grand Ole Opry-Sendungen ausstrahlte) in Nashville und gerieten in Vergessenheit. Ende der siebziger Jahre wurden sie wiederentdeckt. Es folgten Jahre rechtlicher Auseinandersetzungen bis ein US-Gericht schließlich entschied, dass die Erben von Hank Williams Eigentümer dieser seltenen Aufnahmen sind. -- Aufwändig wurden die alten Aufnahmen restauriert, wobei u.a. eine neue Software einer deutschen Firma namens Cube-Tec zum Einsatz kam. Musikkritiker und Fans sind sich einig: diese Radiomitschnitte klingen besser als die Hank Williams-Studioaufnahmen! Endlich können seine Fans exakt das hören, was Hanks Zuhörer 1951 im Publikum bei WSM gehört haben.

• Limited edition, deluxe box set, only available here!
• 15 full length CDs, with many performances available here for the first time.
• This collection increases the number of Hank Williams recordings by 50%!
• Painstakingly restored sound, by Grammy® winner Joe Palmaccio.
• Bonus DVD, featuring a moving conversation with the last two members of Hank's Mother's Best Band.
• 108-page beautifully illustrated hard covered book.
• Many previously unpublished photos.
• Introduction by Hank Williams, Jr. and Afterword by Jett Williams.
• A poster-sized map chronicling Hank's punishing 1951 schedule.
• Box dimensions include 10 inches (tall), 9 inches (wide), 7.25 inches (deep).
• Hank Williams like you’ve never heard him before!


AOL The Boot Review
“It is really a collector’s collectible,” Jett tells The Boot. “The entire package will be encased in an antique radio with a working knob. When you turn the knob, you will hear a WSM jingle and a snippet of my dad’s voice.”


“It is housed in a gorgeous reproduction vintage-radio box featuring a knob that actually plays a snippet of Williams singing when you turn it on.”


“The deluxe box set increases Williams’ music catalog by fifty percent! The collection is available from Time Life.”



We at Time Life often use Hank’s songs on compilations, and he has always been one of the most popular artists on our classic country sets, so we were very excited when we heard that a new and previously unheard stash of his recordings had somehow survived. And then, when Hank’s daughter, Jett, played a few snippets for us, we knew we had to acquire them for Time Life.
Hank recorded songs for his Mother’s Best shows that he never recorded elsewhere, like “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” “Cool Water,” “Lonely Tombs,” “On Top of Old Smoky,” and many more. He also sung some of his hits for the first time anywhere. What about “Cold, Cold Heart” just days after it was written? Hank and the Drifting Cowboys were so unsure of the arrangement that steel guitarist Don Helms came in late! Other songs date back to the 1700s and 1800s. Hank had rarely if ever recorded old songs or songs by his favorite artists. Here, he not only sings them but often talks about them. Truly a treasure trove!
When we got the complete list of Hank’s Mother’s Best recordings, we got out our calculators and figured that they increased the number of known Hank Williams recordings by FIFTY PERCENT!

Until now, there were just a few minutes of Hank Williams talking, but between Mother’s Best songs, Hank talked openly and honestly about his life and career. Listen to the music and the talk that surrounds it, and you’ll get the first ever three-dimensional portrait of this giant of American music!
These are full band recordings made with the same musicians who worked with Hank on the road and recorded with him in the studio.
The recordings were made to acetate (16” discs that could only be played a few times). They were stored at radio station WSM (the host station of the Grand Ole Opry) in Nashville and forgotten. When WSM cleared house in the late 1970s, the Hank Williams acetates were put in a bin for disposal, but were rescued by the Opry’s photographer.
Many years of legal disputes followed until January 2006 when the Court of Appeals in Tennessee ruled that the Mother’s Best shows were owned by the Hank Williams Estate. In 2008, we at Time Life concluded a deal with the Estate.
We hired Joe Palmaccio, who won a Grammy for his work on The Complete Hank Williams, to bring the latest audio restoration technology to the project. In particular, one new software program developed by a German company, Cube-Tec, made a dramatic difference to our overall sound quality. You could say we’re boasting when say that our sound quality is better than the studio recordings, but fans and critics say the same thing!
And now today’s fans can hear exactly what Hank’s fans in the WSM listening area heard in 1951. The songs, the chatter, the advertisements, the atmosphere. It’s a time capsule like no other. The Mother’s Best shows are rounded out with Hank’s audition for an Aunt Jemima –sponsored show, and a 15-minute Public Service Announcement play on the perils of venereal disease with Hank’s narration and specially written songs.
There’s also a bonus DVD. In May 2008, we brought the two surviving members of Hank’s Mother’s Best group to Nashville for an intimate conversation with Hank’s daughter, Jett. Sadly, both former band members died shortly afterward, but not before they shared their memories of Hank Williams in his prime.
The set comes with a 108-page book that includes a Foreword by Hank Williams, Jr., an Afterword by Jett Williams, a 25,000 word essay by Colin Escott, and many previously unpublished photographs from the collection of Marty Stuart.
We think it’s truly a miracle that these performances survived nearly 60 years, and we at Time Life feel honored that Jett Williams and Hank Williams, Jr. chose us to bring them to you. The phrase “American Icon” has been over-used, but if ever there was truly an icon of American music it was Hank Williams. And this is Hank Williams as you’ve never heard him before!