Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Death At The Bar
2. Love Or Hate
3. Gathering Flowers For The Master's Bouquet
4. Don't Wait For The Last Minute To Pray
5. How Far Is Heaven
6. My Mother
7. Make Up Your Mind
8. I'll Be All Smiles (Tonight)
9. IT Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
10. I Don't Want Your Money, I Want Your Time
11. Searching For A Soldier's Grave
12. I'm Too Lonely To Smile
13. The Things I Might Have Been
14. I Heard The Jukebox Playing
15. A Wedding Ring Ago
16. Divided By Two
17. Crying Steel Guitar Waltz
18. Paying For That Back Street Affair
19. Icicles Hanging From Your Heart
20. I Don't Claim To Be An Angel
21. Honky Tonk Waltz
22. The Life They Live In Songs
23. You Said You Could Do Without Me
24. Whose Shoulder Will You Cry On
25. Hey Joe
26. My Cold Cold Heart Is Melting Now
27. I'll Love You Till The Day I Die
28. I've Kissed You My Last Time
29. I'm A Stranger In My Own Home

Disc 2:

1. I Gave My Wedding Dress Away
2. Cheatin's A Sin
3. You're Not Easy To Forget
4. Satisfied, So Satisfied
5. One By One
6. Release Me
7. After Dark
8. (Don't Hang Around) He's Married To Me
9. Thou Shalt Not Steal
10. Lonely Side Of Town
11. I Hope My Divorce Is Never Granted
12. I'm In Love With You
13. Make Believe
14. You And Me
15. As Long As I Live
16. No One But You
17. Makin' Believe
18. I'd Rather Stay Home
19. I Was Wrong
20. There's Poison In Your Heart
21. Goodby Mr. Brown
22. Mother Hold Me Tight
23. Searching (For Someone Else)
24. How Far Is Heaven
25. Dust On The Bible
26. Beside You
27. I'm Counting On You
28. They Can't Take Your Love
29. I'm Tired Of Pretending

Disc 3:

1. Oh! So Many Years
2. One Week Later
3. When I'm With You
4. Can You Find It In Your Heart
5. Repenting
6. I Guess I'll Go On Dreaming
7. Each Day
8. The Pace That Kills
9. A Change Of Heart
10. Stubborn Heart
11. Standing Room Only
12. A Mansion On The Hill
13. Your Wild Life's Gonna Get You Down
14. Right Or Wrong
15. The Winner Of Your Heart
16. Dancing With A Stranger
17. Three Ways (To Love You)
18. She's No Angel
19. Broken Marriage Vows
20. What About You
21. Sweeter Than The Flowers
22. You Can't Conceal A Broken Heart
23. Just When I Needed You
24. Lonely Street
25. That's Me Without You
26. Cheated Out Of Love
27. The Waltz Of The Angels

Disc 4:

1. What About You
2. May You Never Be Alone
3. If Teardrops Were Pennies
4. Touch And Go Heart
5. My Used To Be Darling
6. (I'll Always Be Your) Fraulein
7. Love Me To Pieces
8. What I Believe Dear (Is All Up To You)
9. I Can't Stop Loving You
10. Slowly Dying
11. I Can't Help Wondering
12. He's Lost His Love For Me
13. Jealousy
14. Mommy For A Day
15. The Hands You're Holding Now
16. Let Me Help You Forget
17. All The Time
18. Dust On The Bible
19. (I've Got My) One Way Ticket To The Sky
20. I Heard My Saviour Call
21. I Dreamed I Searched Heaven For You
22. The Great Speckled Bird
23. Matthew Twenty-Four
24. I Need The Prayers
25. My Loved Ones Are Waiting For Me
26. Lord I'm Coming Home
27. He Will Set Your Fields On Fire
28. Lonesome Valley
29. We Buried Her Beneath The Willows

Product Details

• Released on: 1994-06-28
• Formats: Box set, Import

Album Description
Bear Family, the venerable German label that does reissue boxes of U.S. artists better than any American label -- with the possible exception of Mosaic -- has taken the cream of Kitty Wells' career and issued one of the most historically important collections in the history of country music. The Queen of Country Music is a four-CD box, with exhaustive biographical and session notes by Charles Wolfe that document, in their entirety, nine years of Ms. Wells career, from its inception through to its turning point and superstardom, the years 1949 to 1958; there are 114 tracks in all. Along with every major hit and B-side from the eras, the set includes classic original versions of "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," "Hey Joe!," "I Hear the Jukebox Playing," "Lonely Side of Town," "Making Believe," "Dust on the Bible," "The Place That Kills," "Right or Wrong," "Just When I Needed You," "The Great Speckled Bird," "Jealousy," and many others. There are plenty of alternate takes, unissued tracks and, as the session notes attest., Ms. Wells was the beginning point for many, including the legendary producer Owen Bradley, who worked with her and Patsy Cline simultaneously. Box sets such as this one, while geared to the collector and fanatic have, it would seem, limited appeal, but The Queen of Country Music can be looked at in a different light entirely. The story of Ms. Wells ascent to stardom also accurately reflects the changing tides in Nashville and the changing popular attitudes toward country music. Like Don Gibson, Ms. Wells, while remaining firmly a country, roots, and honky tonk vocalist, nonetheless, because of Bradley's production techniques and marketing changes ushered in by Chet Atkins at RCA, experienced a certain amount of crossover success due to massive jukebox play in barrooms and lounges all over the North, As in the Gibson set, this one offers a real view of Nashville's evolution into its real glory years from 1955-1970. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide