COE, DAVID ALLEN - The Complete Hits (Sealed) (2CD)

David Allan Coe hits collection Despite having written some of the most hallowed songs in country music, tunes like "Take This Job and Shove It" and "Would You Lay with Me (in a Field of Stone)," nobody would ever confuse Coe with a popular country artist. The man is outlaw to his core, having offended just about everybody inside (and a lot of people outside) the country music business during the course of his riotous career. But because he is such a great songwriter and honky tonk singer, he did manage score 31 chart hits despite his best efforts at career sabotage (that some of these gripping performances didn't score higher on the charts is testimony to just how far out of the country mainstream he was and is). And you'll find all of them here on this 2-CD collection, which serves not only as a great career overview but also takes it's place as the most comprehensive Coe collection to date. Among the highlights here: "Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile," "You Never Even Called Me by Name," "The Ride," "She Used to Love Me a Lot," "Longhaired Redneck," and his hit with Willie Nelson, "I've Already Cheated on You," most of them produced by countrypolitan producer par excellence Billy Sherrill, who definitely had his hands full trying to sand off the rough edges of David Allan Coe! Chris Morris supplies the notes for The Complete Hits, which features photos and remastering by Chris LeMonde.