The Essential Marty Robbins (2005)

This new 2-CD set benefits from not only modern remastering techniques but also judicious song selection and programming -- this may be the most concise greatest hits collection of this country-pop legend's career.

Like many of his country-music peers, Marty Robbins' catalog is a jumble, especially when you consider that he was a constant presence on the charts for almost three decades. Before now, the Marty fan had a lot of options when choosing a greatest-hits package, most notably the single-disc version of 1972's "All-Time Greatest Hits" and the 1992 double-disc set, also titled "Essential." (Don't confuse the two: this new collection only carries the "Essential" title because it's the latest in Sony's multi-label, multi-artist reissue campaign.) Both were solid for what they were, but each committed sins of omission or commission, going too far or not quite far enough for the casual fan who just wanted all the hits.

This new comp hits it just right: it gathers all of Robbins' big hits (including sixteen Number Ones!) in one package, assembled chronologically and covering a vast gulf of American history (1955-1982, to be precise). Unlike the earlier "Essential" collection, this one doesn't stretch out to include album tracks that show off the singer's remarkable stylistic versatility, and it also gives equal weight to Marty's Seventies and Eighties smashes. So while some fans might grouse that this collection doesn't paint all of the Marty Robbins picture, that's a huge landscape, and as a doorway to his legacy -- not to mention a pop history -- it's hard to imagine how any collection of similar length could improve upon it.