It may pale next to the 29-track California Country, but this is the finest extant single-disc collection on Wynn Stewart, gathering most of his best cuts for Challenge and three of his early Jackpot singles, including the lost classics "How the Other Half Lives" and "Above and Beyond (The Call of Love)." Fans might be disappointed at what isn't here, but Very Best of does feature two good songs ("One Way to Go" and "Don't Look Back") missing from California Country, and is a ...   [ read more ]

CD $13.28

This two-fer, which pairs up Stewart's best album (1975's Out of Hand) and a decent similarly themed outing from two years later, serves as a fine intro to both Stewart's mildly outlaw country and one of the best genre albums of the '70s. Your Place or Mine sounds a little tame, as well as a bit flashy, in retrospect, but Hand is a seminal work, traditional in approach and style but with just enough rock & roll attitude to complement the honky tonking. ~ Michael Gallucci, All Music ...   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

Tuba virtuoso Bob Stewart had appeared on countless albums, always providing a solid and, more importantly, creative underpinning to diverse bands, so it wasn't a big surprise that his first album as a leader turned out so wonderfully. He fronts a sextet with an all brass front line that coasts and struts its way through some playful originals, well-chosen traditionals, and a couple of pieces from ex-employer Arthur Blythe's repertoire. His tuba fluctuates effortlessly from its role as bass substitut...   [ read more ]

CD $16.13