Beginning in 1944, the hillbilly charts were the preserve of many artists tied to the country tradition (Eddy Arnold, Merle Travis, Hank Williams) as well as a few who seemed to have little in common with it -- not just that urbane cowpoke Bing Crosby, but the King Cole Trio and Louis Jordan plus Margaret Whiting. ASV/Living Era's Country Hits of the Forties is an excellent look at the charts during a postwar era when rural and obscure was fast becoming urban and populist. The compilers undoubtedly checked the charts before they started gathering tracks for this volume, since nearly every one of the decade's biggest is present. Eddy Arnold was the king of country during the '40s, and he's represented by the two biggest hillbilly hits of the period: "I'll Hold You in My Heart ('Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" and "Bouquet of Roses." Most of the rest are here too, and they represent some of the best country as well as the most popular -- "New Spanish Two-Step" by Bob Wills, "Lovesick Blues" by Hank Williams, "Divorce Me C.O.D." and "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" by Merle Travis, "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette!" by Tex Williams & His Western Caravan, and "Pistol Packin' Mama" and "Guitar Polka" by Al Dexter. The biggest non-Eddy Arnold hit of the '40s was, surprisingly, a pop crossover -- "Slipping Around" by Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely with Paul Weston & His Orchestra. Nat King Cole and Jordan appear courtesy of boogie tracks ("Straighten up and Fly Right" and "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby," respectively), which sound fine in this context. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide