Additional information
Contains 29 tracks recorded for Hickory, MGM and RCA from 1961 to 1965. Includes a 20-page booklet. These 29 songs, cut for RCA, MGM, and Hickory, represent a formidable body of work, as solid as any early collection of Marty Robbins or Carl Perkins, and not just as compositions -- Endsley had a pleasing and powerful voice, easily and convincingly expressing heartache, frustration, or anger, and the hooks are all there in the songs. The title tune, "Keep A-Lovin' Me, Baby," "Gettin' Used to the Blues," the rockabilly-like "Lovin' on My Mind," "Hungry Eyes," the hard-rocking, guitar-driven "Let's Fall Out of Love," and "I Got a Feelin'" were all superb, along with the rest of the RCA sides. The later sides, produced at MGM and Hickory, don't match the smooth commercial edge that Chet Atkins gave the RCA stuff, but they're worthwhile listening as well, some with rougher, slightly bluesier edges (check out "Ain't It Fine," "Oh, Yeah Baby," and "Started Out A-Walkin'"), with a few surprising later forays into a near-rockabilly sound ("For My Baby"). Strangely enough, Endsley didn't cut "Singin' the Blues," "Knee Deep in the Blues," or his other early hit songs, which may partly explain his lack of success as a recording artist, but there are still a couple dozen inspired songs here, some of them just as good as the hits he provided to Robbins and company. ~ Bruce Eder
