Charlie Walker - Pick Me Up On Your Way Down (1999) [5CD Box Set]

The hillbilly shuffle and the honky tonk song are still the cornerstones of real country music. Some pioneers, like Ray Price, are getting their due these days, but others, like Charlie Walker, tend to be overlooked.
The facts are these: Charlie Walker's early hits, like Who Will Buy The Wine, Pick Me Up On Your Way Down, Wild As A Wildcat, and Little Ol' Winedrinker Me are simply as good as it gets when it comes to heartbreakin', cheatin', beerhall country music and state-of-the-art hillbilly shuffles. The 154 sides represented in this five-CD collection chronicle the development of Charlie Walker's style from his earliest recordings in 1952 for Imperial Records to his classic sides for Columbia and Epic Records.
Charlie Walker is remembered for his 1958 hit "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down," but he charted over two dozen hits in his long career that included stints with Imperial, Decca, Columbia, Epic, RCA, and Capitol. Pick Me Up on Your Way Down is a five-disc box set that collects Walker's complete recordings from his earliest, tentative efforts for Imperial through the end of his tenure with Epic in the late '60s. Walker was a honky-tonker in the Texas dancehall tradition second only to Ray Price in his use of the shuffle beat, but he varied his approach enough so that a set of this length doesn't become tedious. His early recordings were sometimes sung uncertainly, but Walker improved with age to the point where the last recordings on this box set are some of the best. Walker's late-'60s efforts were surprisingly adventurous (including an incredible hard-rocking cover of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women") and much better than his declining fortunes on the charts would suggest.


Tracks:


CD 01

01. I'm Looking For Another You
02. Stolen Kisses
03. Flaming Jewels
04. Two Red Lips
05. By Rights You Belong To Me
06. Out Of My Arms
07. Flock Of Memories
08. What You Savin' Your Lovin' For
09. I've Never Been Out Of Texas (But I've Seen Everything)
10. Stay Away From My Heart
11. You Don't Need No Other Daddy But Me
12. Tell Her Lies And Feed Her Candy
13. When You Know What You Have Lost (And You Know You Still Care)
14. It Takes That To Satisfy Me
15. The Chocolate Song
16. Hurry Back Home
17. Only You, Only You
18. You Can't Get There From Here
19. Remembering
20. Stepping Stones
21. Stand Still
22. Cheaters Never Win
23. I'm Not Mixed Up Anymore
24. Gentle Love
25. No Sorrow Tonight
26. Dancing Mexican Boy
27. I'll Never Let It Show
28. Take My Hand (I'll Understand)
29. Two Empty Arms
30. Pick Me Up On Your Way Down
31. Do You Care For Me
32. Who's Giving Who The Heartaches Now


CD 02

01. I'll Catch You When You Fall
02. I Don't Mind Saying
03. Broken Hearts Will Haunt Your Soul
04. Bow Down Your Head And Cry
05. When My Conscience Hurts The Most
06. Who Will Buy The Wine
07. I Go Anywhere
08. Take Back Your Old Love Letters
09. A Way To Free Myself
10. Right Back At Your Door
11. Facing The Wall
12. I Walked Out On Heaven (When I Walked Out On You)
13. Good Deal, Lucille
14. Louisiana Belle
15. Life Goes On (I Wonder Why)
16. I Only Meant To Borrow (Not To Steal)
17. Running Back To You
18. One In Every Crowd
19. What's Wrong With Me
20. There's Where Katie Waits
21. Truck Driving Man
22. Close All The Honky Tonks
23. The Bad Things I Do
24. I Am Nothing
25. Last Call For Alcohol
26. Wild Side Of Life
27. Honky Tonk Blues
28. Fraulein
29. Pick Me Up On Your Way Down


CD 03

01. Honky Tonk Song
02. The Band Keeps Playing On
03. Every Good Reason
04. Shoes Of A Fool
05. Walking The Floor Over You
06. Foggy River
07. Born To Lose
08. You're Still On My Mind
09. My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You
10. I'll Go Down Swinging
11. Drivin' Nails In My Coffin
12. Gonna Buy Me A Jukebox
13. I Can Take Anything
14. I'd Rather Switch Than Fight
15. Fast Way Of Livin'
16. Hello Bill
17. Bubbles In My Beer
18. Crazy Arms
19. Little Old Heartache Maker Me
20. Wild As A Wildcat
21. Out Of A Honky Tonk
22. Try Me One More Time
23. The Man In The Little White Suit
24. Memory Killer
25. He's A Jolly Good Fellow
26. A Dozen More Like You
27. Back In My Baby's Arms Again
28. I'm Gonna Live (As Long As I Can)
29. Little Ol' Winedrinker Me
30. Think Of Me
31. Daddy's Coming Home (Next Week)
32. I'm Ashamed Of You
33. I'm Gonna Hang Up My Gloves
34. You Lied To Me
35. The Town That Never Sleeps


CD 04

01. The Way To Say Goodbye
02. Mr. Cool
03. Don't Squeeze My Sharmon
04. Moffett, Oklahoma
05. The Tail's Been Waggin' The Dog Too Long
06. Tonight, We're Calling It A Day
07. Pistol Packin' Mama
08. Fast Women, Slow Horses And Wine
09. Here's To The Girls
10. I Wouldn't Take Her To A Dogfight
11. Sweetheart Of The Year
12. The One Rose (That's Left In My Heart)
13. A Bad Girl
14. When My Conscience Hurts The Most
15. Truck Drivin' Cat With Nine Wives
16. A Honky Tonk In Dallas
17. San Diego
18. There Is A Fountain
19. What A Friend We Have In Jesus
20. Leaning On The Everlasting Arms
21. Softly And Tenderly
22. This World Is Not My Home
23. Precious Memories
24. I'll Fly Away
25. Gathering Flowers For The Master's Bouquet
26. The Great Speckled Bird
27. On The Wings Of A Dove
28. He Is My Everything
29. Honk Tonk Season
30. Till Something Better Comes Along
31. Too Many Nights In Too Many Arms


CD 05

01. You're From Texas
02. Don't Put Down The Honky Tonks
03. Rosie Bokay
04. Honky Tonk Women
05. I Owe The World To You
06. Let's Go Fishin' Boys (The Girls Are Bitin')
07. You're All Dressed Up (With Somewhere To Go)
08. Ode To Stella
09. God Save The Queen (Of The Honky Tonks)
10. Becky Who
11. My Baby Used To Be That Way
12. Before I Found The Wine
13. Good Old Mountain Dew
14. She's Much More Of A Woman
15. Wild Women
16. Got My Mind On The Border Of Mexico
17. Pick Me Up On Your Way Down [Live]
18. Jambalaya [Live]
19. Almost Persuaded [Live]
20. Moffett, Oklahoma [Live]
21. My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You [Live]
22. Don't Squeeze My Sharmon [Live]
23. Honky Tonk Season [Live]
24. San Antonio Rose [Live]
25. El Rancho Grande [Live]
26. The One Rose (That's Left In My Heart)
27. You're From Texas