Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Collectors Choice's 2005 release Greatest Hits is the best career overview yet assembled on Billy Swan, the roots rocker who straddled the line between country, old-time rock & roll, and the pop charts in the '70s. Swan is best known for his number one 1974 single "I Can Help," a bouncy throwback to late-'50s rock & roll that owed a lot to Elvis Presley. It was sunny, infectious, and irresistible, making it an unexpected hit, and while he followed its blueprint for the rest of his '70s recordings, he never had another hit of the same magnitude, probably because he was too devoted to the style and sound of early rock & roll. That made him a better fit for the country charts, but listening to Greatest Hits several decades after these tunes were recorded, Swan seems less like a country artist but like one of the first roots rockers who would later pop up in the '80s. Like those roots rockers, Swan could write exceptional originals in the vein of classic rock & roll, while picking excellent cover songs, both familiar and obscure -- plus, he was savvy enough to switch up the arrangements on some of the more familiar material, as when he gave "Don't Be Cruel" a brooding, downbeat arrangement. These are the skills that make Greatest Hits so much fun for anybody with an affection for old-time rock & roll. While this disc doesn't have all of his charting singles from the '70s, it's an expertly chosen, very listenable 20-track set that captures the essence of his career. Plus it has good sound and excellent liner notes from Todd Everett, making it far and away the best Billy Swan compilation yet assembled.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From kr133.33/month
Billy Swan, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Ken Robertson, Mastering Engineer - Joy Gilbert, Project Coordinator - Nick Shaffran, Producer
(P) 1974 Sony Music Entertainment
B. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Ken Robertson, Mastering Engineer - Joy Gilbert, Project Coordinator - Nick Shaffran, Producer
(P) 1975 Sony Music Entertainment
Billy Swan, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Billy Swan with Carl Perkins, AssociatedPerformer - Chip Young, Producer - Carl Perkins, AssociatedPerformer, with - C. Perkins, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1976 Sony Music Entertainment
O. Blackwell, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elvis Presley, Composer, Lyricist - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Ken Robertson, Mastering Engineer - Joy Gilbert, Project Coordinator - Nick Shaffran, Producer
(P) 1974 Sony Music Entertainment
B. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1974 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
B. Woods, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - J. Christopher, Jr., Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1997 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - K. Kristofferson, Composer, Lyricist - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Ken Robertson, Mastering Engineer - Joy Gilbert, Project Coordinator - Nick Shaffran, Producer
(P) 1975 Sony Music Entertainment
D. Fritts, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - S. Oldham, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1977 Sony Music Entertainment
B. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - M. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Ken Robertson, Mastering Engineer - Joy Gilbert, Project Coordinator - Nick Shaffran, Producer
(P) 1976 Sony Music Entertainment
Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Billy Swan with Carl Perkins, AssociatedPerformer - Carl Perkins, AssociatedPerformer, with - C. Perkins, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1997 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Scotty Moore, AssociatedPerformer, with - FRED ROSE, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan with Scotty Moore, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1997 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
B. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1975 Sony Music Entertainment
Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - C.E. Calhoun, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1974 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
B. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - D. Linde, Composer, Lyricist - Chip Young, Producer - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Ken Robertson, Mastering Engineer - Joy Gilbert, Project Coordinator - Nick Shaffran, Producer
(P) 1976 Sony Music Entertainment
Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - A. Alexander Jr., Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1997 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
B. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1975 Sony Music Entertainment
Jerry Peters, Keyboards - J. MacRae, Composer, Lyricist - B. Morrison, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, Keyboards, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ronny Scaife, Engineer, Guitar, Background Vocal - Carl Marsh, Keyboards - Judy Rodman, Background Vocal - Larry Rogers, Producer, Engineer, Percussion - Farrell Morris, Percussion - LOU BRADLEY, Engineer - Lloyd Green, Steel Guitar - Danny Hogan, Background Vocal - M.C. Rather, Mastering Engineer - Ronnie Dean, Engineer - Bobby Neal, Guitar - Carolyn Curtis, Background Vocal - Perry (Dumpy) York, Drums, Background Vocal - "Delta" Don Singleton, Guitar - Malcolm Gray, Bass - David Roush, Harmonica
(P) 1981 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
B. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - D. Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Ken Robertson, Mastering Engineer - Joy Gilbert, Project Coordinator - Nick Shaffran, Producer
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment
B. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - Jerry Peters, Keyboards - Billy Swan, Keyboards, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ronny Scaife, Engineer, Guitar, Background Vocal - Carl Marsh, Keyboards - Judy Rodman, Background Vocal - Larry Rogers, Producer, Engineer, Percussion - Farrell Morris, Percussion - LOU BRADLEY, Engineer - Lloyd Green, Steel Guitar - G. Clark, Composer, Lyricist - Danny Hogan, Background Vocal - M.C. Rather, Mastering Engineer - Ronnie Dean, Engineer - Nick Shaffran, Producer - Bobby Neal, Guitar - Carolyn Curtis, Background Vocal - Perry (Dumpy) York, Drums, Background Vocal - "Delta" Don Singleton, Guitar - Malcolm Gray, Bass - David Roush, Harmonica
(P) 1981 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
B. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - Billy Swan, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1977 Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
Collectors Choice's 2005 release Greatest Hits is the best career overview yet assembled on Billy Swan, the roots rocker who straddled the line between country, old-time rock & roll, and the pop charts in the '70s. Swan is best known for his number one 1974 single "I Can Help," a bouncy throwback to late-'50s rock & roll that owed a lot to Elvis Presley. It was sunny, infectious, and irresistible, making it an unexpected hit, and while he followed its blueprint for the rest of his '70s recordings, he never had another hit of the same magnitude, probably because he was too devoted to the style and sound of early rock & roll. That made him a better fit for the country charts, but listening to Greatest Hits several decades after these tunes were recorded, Swan seems less like a country artist but like one of the first roots rockers who would later pop up in the '80s. Like those roots rockers, Swan could write exceptional originals in the vein of classic rock & roll, while picking excellent cover songs, both familiar and obscure -- plus, he was savvy enough to switch up the arrangements on some of the more familiar material, as when he gave "Don't Be Cruel" a brooding, downbeat arrangement. These are the skills that make Greatest Hits so much fun for anybody with an affection for old-time rock & roll. While this disc doesn't have all of his charting singles from the '70s, it's an expertly chosen, very listenable 20-track set that captures the essence of his career. Plus it has good sound and excellent liner notes from Todd Everett, making it far and away the best Billy Swan compilation yet assembled.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 20 track(s)
- Total length: 01:04:16
- Main artists: Billy Swan
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Sony BMG Music Entertainment
- Genre: Blues/Country/Folk Folk
(P) 2005 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.