Many of the essential tracks from Waylon's time with RCA (1965 to 1985) are here. Despite some success in the sixties, most notably with Only daddy that'll walk the line, it wasn't until the seventies that his career really took off. Waylon had to fight a long battle with his record company to record the kind of music he wanted to record, but whatever misgivings RCA may have had, the results were impressive, both artistically and commercially.

Among the classics here you can find Are you sure Hank done it this way, Good hearted woman, Are you ready for the country, Luckenbach Texas, Mammas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys, I've always been crazy, Amanda and the theme from the Dukes of Hazzard (a TV series in which Waylon was also narrator). After the seventies gave way to the eighties, Waylon never again had any more number one hits on the country charts with RCA, but he still had some top ten hits including Just to satisfy you - a song that Waylon originally had success with in the sixties but which he revived as a duet with Willie Nelson.

Waylon had some success after he left RCA, most notably Rose in Paradise (included here) and his recordings with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, collectively known as the Highwaymen (represented here by the song of that title).

Several compilations of Waylon's music are available, but this is the strongest single CD. Nevertheless, you might wish to compare this with the double CD (RCA country legends) which has many more Waylon classics than you will find here although it doesn't contain Just to satisfy you, Rose in Paradise or Highwaymen.

Evidently it is a maxim now that this is the best single disc overview of Waylon's career. And that is a questionable assertion. How can any 'best of' Waylon that omits 'Honky-Tonk Heroes' be remotely close to be a fully worthwhile compilation? I think that Waylon has about 15 songs that are essentials (and another 12 or so that are near-essentials), that all of those 15 must be included for a compilation to be 'complete.' Nine of those songs are the 9 on the original Greatest Hits, and only 7 of those 9 songs are on the Ultimate Waylon Jennings. In addition to the criminal omission of 'Honky Tonk Heroes,' this disc also omits 'Lonesome, Ornry, and Mean.'

Add those two songs to this disc, and it does become about as good as could ever be expected of a one disc overview of Waylon's career. Without that pair of songs, I wouldn't buy this for even $8.98.

And if something must be cut to make room for those two all-time classics, I say with gusto, Slash out 'The Highwayman.' Sci-Fi reincarnation belongs in Country Music about as much as drag queen reviews, which is not at all.

I have many country albums including Waylon Jennings. But since recieving this album it has had by far the most play time. The song selection is fantastic,it showcases Waylon's talent.

Any fan of Waylon -- from casual to extreme -- should buy this CD. There's not a song in the list that will be a stranger to you, and it will remind you that the music world lost a great performer much too soon.

Waylon had a lengthy career, and even 22 tracks are not enough to capture all his moods and stylistic changes. For instance, there are no tunes on this CD from "Honky-Tonk Heroes" his famous LP of Billy Joe Shaver songs. What is here, however, is prime stuff. And Amazon is offering it at a great price. If you want one CD to represent Waylon's distinctive vocalizing for your collection, this is a great choice.