Hank Snow

Hank Snow often misses out when the greatest country & western singers of all time are surveyed, but he was certainly one of the best. A Canadian transplant, he understood the desolate life of the Southwest deeply, and evoked it perfectly. (Even though he grew up in Nova Scotia, he spent most of his adolescence on a fishing boat.) His deep, steady warble resisted most attempts at crossover, but he used it perfectly; it's no coincidence that Willie Nelson, who often phrased closer to blues or jazz than country, loved him and recorded a full album with Snow in 1985. Bear Family has surveyed Snow's studio career over a series of box sets -- including no less than 20 discs just for the American-based, major-label recordings that began in 1950 with his hit "I'm Movin' On" -- but they also offered a series of four thematic compilations in 2008 for those who want a steady middle ground (more music than the hits compilations offer, but less than the completist route). In total, they serve as a good portrait of Snow's great career, although they bypass the straight country and honky tonk material he did so well. Snow in Hawaii includes 28 Hawaiian songs, recorded throughout his career (1941-1978), and includes all of his lone Hawaiian full-length from 1967 (titled the same as this collection). Snow had a few hits with Hawaiian material, including "Tradewinds" (a song he wrote), but most of these songs were relegated to B-sides or album filler. Still, Snow understood the Hawaiian influence in country music from a young age -- he was playing a steel guitar bought by his mother before he reached his teenage years. Snow in Hawaii may not be a critical compilation for most overviews of Hank Snow's career, but it offers a good snapshot of a great artist. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide