Eddy Arnold: Greatest Songs

Album Review

This 32-minute budget sampler of Eddy Arnold songs essentially represents an entire subgenre that has come to be known as "Countrypolitan". That means the singer is suspended in a cloud of Nashville pop production that typifies those inescapably accessible trends in country music that dominated entire portions of the entertainment industry during the late 1960s and throughout the '70s and '80s. Indeed a song like "The Green, Green Grass of Home" might well constitute proof that one-time "Tennessee Plowboy" Eddy Arnold served as a role model for Jim Nabors. While tried and true Arnold fans will best be able to appreciate these sentimentally infused performances, the best way to really understand and appreciate Arnold is to venture back towards the beginning of his lengthy career. Later, slicker material like what you hear on this compilation does serve one important purpose; it demonstrates exactly why Arnold became one of his country's all-time most successful recording artists. This is music that does not challenge or confront the listener in any way. It comforts, soothes, calms, and reassures while appealing to emotional sensibilities that most people carry somewhere in their hearts.