Love don't hang out in a grand hotel, got no satin sheets, got no servant's bell...

The last couple of country albums I had on here were representative of the current “bad-boy” cookie-cutter that’s been prevalent lately. Well, consider Hal Ketchum’s The Hits to be a 180 degree turn from that. Ketchum came out of the gate in 1991 with “Small Town Saturday Night”, and graced the top-10 five more times, all of which appear on this collection. Like Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Hal is originally from New York, and his music proves Ketchum is expert in the smalltown depictions that don’t degrade into either hokiness or redneck jingoism. Tunes like “Small Town Saturday Night” are like a snapshot or young love in rural America, while companion line “Mama Knows The Highway” puts a female spin on the trucker’s tale for a more refreshing story. Hal’s love songs contain a lot of heart and truth, whether it be about simple pleasures of life (“I Know Where Love Lives”) or loss (the Muscle Shoals-funky “That’s What I Get For Loving You”) or even quiet desperation (the longing “Stay Forever”). Ketchum never rocks too hard, and that works just fine with the simmer-drama of “Past The Point Of Rescue” or the frolicking siren song of “Hearts Are Gonna Roll”. In fact, Hal shines best when given a soft and reflective backdrop, as in the thoughtful “Someplace Far Away (Careful What You’re Dreamin’)” or the peacefulness of “Satisfied Mind” or the longing journeyman ode of “I Miss My Mary”. There of two covers, the hit version of the Vogues’ 60s tune “Five O’ Clock World” which sounds fresh in the country milieu, and the gospel classic “Wings Of A Dove”, while competent doesn’t eclipse other versions of the song. The only misstep is the over-corny non-single “Hang In There Superman”, which isn’t too horrible to spoil the disc. But by far the centerpiece of the collection is “Sure Love”, which sums up Ketchum’s hopeful lyricism and catchy musicality. There are a couple hits missing, most notably “(Tonight We Just Might) Fall In Love Again”, and his cover of Todd Rundgren’s “I Saw The Light” would’ve been welcome, but at 14 songs, but for Hal Ketchum’s The Hits it’s only a minor complaint and as Ketchum’s only collection it proved a winner of a purchase.

Grade: A-
Best Cuts: “Small Town Saturday Night”, “Mama Knows The Highway”, “Past The Point Of Rescue”, “Someplace Far Away”, “Sure Love”, “Satisfied Mind”, “Five O’ Clock World”, “Hearts Are Gonna Roll”, “Stay Forever”, “I Miss My Mary”, “That’s What I Get For Lovin’ You”
Weakest Link: “Hang In There Superman”

The Hits made #43 country albums.
"Small Town Saturday Night" hit #2 country singles.
"Mama Knows The Highway" hit #8 country.
"I Know Where Love Lives" made #13 country.
"Past The Point Of Rescue" made #2 country.
"Someplace Far Away (Careful What You're Dreaming)" hit #24 country.
"Sure Love" hit #3 country.
"Five O' Clock World" made #16 country.
"Hearts Are Gonna Roll" made #2 country.
"Stay Forever" hit #8 country and #124 pop.
"That's What I Get (For Losin' You)" hit #22 country.

Buy: You can pick up Hal Ketchum's The Hits by clicking here....

And here's Ketchum's debut video for "Small Town Saturday Night"...