Porter Wagoner

Porter Wagoner's first posthumous comp does a decent job in selecting the best songs from his career, as both the ardent fan and the curious beginner can really dig into his haunting narratives and murder ballads. "Jim Johnson" exemplifies the latter. It's about a boy who saves his sister from molestation by shooting his alcoholic hillbilly stepfather with a shotgun. With its tribal tom-tom beat and Porter's cartoonish imitation of a Native American war cry, "Indian Creek" may not be the most politically correct song, but it is catchy and not half as embarrassing as Cher's "Half Breed."