Lattie Moore - I'm Not Broke But I'm Badly Bent: The Best of the King-Starday Recordings 1953-63 (2000)

Lattie Moore, some say, is the original rockabilly artist. His reputation as such is based on his early singles for various small labels rather than the 29 sides collected here, but that shouldn't dissuade anyone from sampling this excellent -- and nearly complete -- survey of his King and Starday years. Moore was never able to break the spell of Hank Williams (or, on the novelties, Little Jimmy Dickens) long enough to develop a truly unique style, but such was often the case with hitless artists of the era as they searched for a commercial groove. Moore eventually scored a minor hit with "Drunk Again" in 1961, although it was too little too late, and that song appears among the handful of Starday tracks at the end of this collection. "Rockabilly Joe's" and "Why Did You Lie to Me" are hillbilly stompers, and the boastful "100,000 Women Can't Be Wrong" is loads of fun. The liner notes identify "If the Good Lord's Willing" as the Jerry Reed composition of the same name but, in fact, it is a completely different song also based on Hank Sr.'s radio sign-off tag.