Cowboy Copas - Mister Country Music (CA)

All Music Guide

There is an especially grim irony in the final track of this album (Copas' last), "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven," where Copas mentions himself alongside the likes of such deceased country stars as Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, etc.-- in March of 1963, he died in the same plane crash that killed Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins. Otherwise, the material is a mix of uptempo numbers ("Sal," "You Are The One," "Black Eyed Susan") and, more often, romantic ballads ("Louisiana," "A Thousand Miles of Ocean," "A Penny For Your Thoughts"), some of which is delightful, some of it less than memorable. As with many stereo recordings of this era, the sharp separation is unnatural and leaves the overall recording without some body and depth. And as usual with King and Starday reissues, there is no information on the date, circumstances, or personnel on the original release.

- Bruce Eder, All Music Guide