25 All Time Greatest Hits

by Joe Tex

Overview

If you're set on having the best available Joe Tex CD anthology and you already have the 1996 16-track Rhino comp The Very Best of Joe Tex, it might vex you to learn that all 16 of those songs are on this 25-song anthology, making the Rhino disc redundant should you decide to upgrade. If you don't have a Joe Tex CD anthology yet, though, you're in luck, as this definitely supersedes others as the greatest-hits collection of choice. All but one of these songs (the 1965 B-side "Don't Let Your Left Hand Know") was a chart single, and aside from the 1977 hit "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)," all are from his prime 1965-1972 period. Of the songs not on the Rhino disc, highlights are the 1965 slowies "You Better Get It" and "A Woman Can Change a Man," and the aforementioned "Don't Let Your Left Hand Know," an odd soul-pop tune with folky guitars and harmonies straight off a Rooftop Singers record. Also, "A Woman's Hands" (a small 1967 hit) is a good example of Tex's preaching style. Then there's 1968's "You Need Me Baby," in which Tex disses a stud who was the best athlete in town and left to become a big success, maintaining that he [Tex] is still a better catch for the woman whom the stud left behind, since he'll love her children. Heck, all of the songs not on the Rhino disc are worthwhile additions. There's no telling if this will remain the definitive Tex compilation if his catalog continues to get passed around, but there's a good chance that it won't be surpassed. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	03/21/2000
Label:	Var?Se Sarabande / Varese
UPC:	0030206610123

Tracks

1. Hold What You've Got
2. You Got What It Takes
3. You Better Get It
4. A Women Can Change a Man
5. Don't Let Your Left Hand Know
6. One Monkey Don't Stop No Show
7. I Want to (Do Everything for You)
8. A Sweet Woman Like You
9. The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)
10. S.Y.S.L.J.F.M. (The Letter Song)
11. I Believe I'm Gonna Make It
12. I've Got to Do a Little Bit Better
13. Papa Was Too
14. Show Me
15. Woman Like That
16. A Woman's Hands
17. Skinny Legs and All
18. Men Are Gettin' Scarce
19. I'll Never Do You Wrong
20. Keep the One You Got
21. You Need Me, Baby
22. Buying a Book
23. I Gotcha
24. You Said a Bad Word
25. Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Joe Tex   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Bill Dahl   Liner Notes,Producer
Cary E. Mansfield   Producer
Joe Tex   Composer
Buddy Killen   Composer,Producer
Bill Pitzonka   Design,Art Direction
Guy Draper   Composer
Bennie Lee McGinty   Composer
Daniel Hersch   Digital Remastering