20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Waylon Jennings

Waylon Jennings recorded just four albums during his late-'80s tenure at MCA, but that was enough to qualify him for one of the label’s 20th Century Masters collections. In collaboration with MCA’s in-house producer Jimmy Bowen (who had already become the preferred producer for hit-makers George Strait and Reba McEntire), Jennings adapted his hard-bitten style to mainstream Nashville and came up with some of the era’s best songs. Of course, the mechanized drums and synthesizers of late-'80s production are in full effect, but Jennings’s trademark rollicking groove (and sense of humor) comes through on “If Ole Hank Could Only See Us Now” and “How Much Is It Worth to Live in L.A.” Waylon also put the new production techniques to his advantage. The ballads —“Rose In Paradise,” “Which Way Do I Go (Now That I’m Gone),” and “You Put the Soul in the Song”— bring out the best in his singing. And even after all these years, Waylon was still trying out new ideas — just check the horn section in the brilliant “Rough and Rowdy Days.”