Country Gentleman - The Best of Ricky Skaggs

Album Review

Country Gentleman: The Best of Ricky Skaggs is a terrific double-disc set that traces Skaggs' years at Epic Records, which spanned from 1981 to 1991. All of his charting singles are featured on this 32-track collection, including the number one singles "Crying My Heart Out Over You," "I Dont' Care," "Heartbroke," "I Wouldn't Change you If I Could," "Highway 40 Blues," "Uncle Pen" and "Cajun Moon," as well as the Mark O'Connor/New Nashville Cats duet "Restless." Skaggs was one of the few country artists of his era to make albums as good as his singles, but boiling his career down to his singles does him no disservice — in fact, it accentuates the consistant brilliance of his music, not to mention its depth. It's a definitive portrait of one of the most important country musicians of the '80s, capturing him at his peak.