R.F.D. / My Kind Of Country

As it's been said many times, by many people, Marty Robbins was a truly original stage entertainer and a recording artist without music barriers, although country was his natural forte. The two vintage albums in this collection clearly proved his country status and why he was - and remains, in the view of numerous fans worldwide - one of this music's finest. "R. F. D. " and "My Kind Of Country" released in 1964 and 1967 respectively well complemented each other and clearly showed the singer's return to that decade's root country sound. Neither contained any classics or covers, but that hardly detracts from the quality of songs, with spare instrumental accompaniment further highlighting the vocals. Several of the songs were penned by band members and Marty only contributed one original to each album. There were no chart singles, though the albums themselves enjoyed high chart places ("R. F. D. " halted at #4 and "My Kind Of Country" at #9) and many fans regard both as among Marty Robbins' finest work. Incidentally, R. F. D. refers to the U. S. postal service, Rural Free Delivery. Although country music changed over the years Marty Robbins hardly ever disappeared from the charts, undoubtedly because of his skill to defy trends. It was for such music, along with many other career achievements, that he earned country music's top honour - a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982, the induction coming just a few weeks before his death on 8th December. The world lost an irreplaceable talent at the tragically early age of 57.