CD Review Eddie Noack – Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
By Christian Lamitschka for Country Music News International Magazine
001 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
002 Triflin’ Mama Blues
003 Pyramid Club
004 Simulated Diamonds
005 Hungry But Happy
006 Raindrops In The River
007 Frown On The Moon
008 Unlucky Me
009 Green Back Dollar
010 Tragic Love
011 I Can’t Run Away
012 I’d Still Want You
013 Music Makin ‘Mama From Memphis
014 Please Mr. Postman
015 There’s A Place In My Heart
016 I’m Going To See My Baby
017 Too Hot To Handle
018 How Does It Feel To Be A Winner
019 Nothing
020 First And Last Thing
021 (As The Band Played) Paul Jones
022 Pride
023 Spoken Message To Don Pierce
024 Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me Baby
025 As Long As You Call
026 Forlorn, Forgotten, And Forsaken
027 Walking The Street
028 Simulated Diamonds
029 Moonlight On The Water
030 Hungry But Happy
031 Raindrops In The River
032 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
033 Unlucky Me
CD 2
034 Fair Today, Cold Tomorrow
035 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
036 Take It Away Lucky
037 Don’t Trade
038 Left Over Lovin’
039 Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me Baby
040 I’ll Be So Good To You
041 Think Of Her Now
042 Wind Me Up
043 If It Ain’t On The Menu
044 Me And My New Baby
045 The Life You’ve Lived
046 You Done Got Me
047 The Life You’ve Lived
048 If Hearts Could Talk
049 When The Bright Lights Grow Dim
050 Think Of Her Now
051 It Ain’t Much But It’s Home
052 For You I Weep
053 You Done Got Me
054 The Worm Has Turned
055 She Can’t Stand The Light Of Day
056 Think Of Her Now
057 Scarecrow
058 Dust On The River
059 What’s The Matter Joe
060 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes [Old]
061 For You I Weep [Old]
062 Can You Answer To God
063 Lucky In Cards
064 Mister Nice Guy
065 Six Feet Down
066 Relief Is Just A Swallow Away
067 Are You Really Here
068 It’s Hard To Tell An Old Love Goodbye
069 That Certain You Know What
CD 3
070 Can’t Play Hookey
071 My Steady Dream
072 Wonderin’ Oakie
073 Have Blues – Will Travel
074 The Price Of Love
075 Relief Is Just A Swallow Away
076 It’s Hard To Tell An Old Love Goodbye
077 Love’s Other Face
078 I Don’t Live There Any More
079 Walk’em Off
080 The Man On The Wall
081 Shake Hands With The Blues (1)
082 A Million Friends But No Sweetheart
083 Don’t Look Behind
084 A Thinkin’ Man’s Woman (A Lovin’ Man’s Girl)
085 Shake Hands With The Blues (2)
086 Sunflower Song
087 Too Weak To Go
088 Firewater Hatch
089 The Price Of Love [Old]
090 The Same Old Mistakes
091 Invisible Stripes
092 So Funny I Could Cry
093 Shotgun House
094 I Slipped Out Of Heaven
095 Firewater Hatch
096 Invisible Stripes
097 The Same Old Mistakes
098 Shotgun House
099 Where Do You Go (When You Say Goodnight)
100 Love Is For Fools
101 The Life You’ve Lived
102 I Speak Your Name
103 The Same Old Mistakes
104 You’ve Got A Woman
In front of us is a 3-CD set with a detailed booklet, 104 individual tracks and a playing time of approximately 230 minutes. It is a retrospective of Eddie Noack’s musical work from 1948 to 1961. The texts are consistently simple, deal with topics such as loneliness, looking for, finding and losing a love, the child’s calls for the father “Please, Mr. Postman” or “Diamond Girl Eyes”.
Eddie Noack remained true to his style, an unadulterated Texan honky tonk, hillbilly and rockabilly musician until his death in 1978. Many titles on these CD’s appear several times. Sometimes song fragments, demo songs and different variants of a song were recorded, sometimes swinging or slowly rolling, then again as lively dance music. Sometimes only with guitar and vocals, then again fully produced with mandolin, fiddle, guitars, pedal steel, double bass, now and then piano and sometimes an accordion.
It is not possible to discuss every single title, so I would like to highlight just a few: track 003 sounds like an Austrian Gstanzl. Tracks 013, 042, 043, 059 and many others are very fast dance music numbers. Track 058 “Dust on the River” is a very nice ballad. And track 017 “Too Hot To Handle”, is the hymn of the honky tonk par excellence.
For friends of authentic honky tonk, hillbilly and rockabilly, these 3 CDs are a must have. I am personally excited.