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Released June 05, 2001

This is basically the budget version of the more comprehensive Every Day: The Best of the Verve Years anthology. While Verve could have easily compiled a better 60 minutes by sticking to Williams' '50s recordings with Count Basie, Joe Williams' Finest Hour shoots for the broader picture, from Williams' pre-Basie big-band work from the late '40s to his swingin'-senior-citizen days of the '80s and '90s. (Still, this is not exactly a retrospective, as there's a 30-year gap between Williams' last Verve session with Basie and the next record he cut for the label, 1987's Every Night). Overall, Finest Hour is a decent sampling of Williams' many stylistic hats -- swinging, scatting, balladeering, and blues-shouting. On half of the tracks, he fronts a big band (either Basie's or Andy Kirk's); on the other half, he sings slow blues or pop ballads (ranging from sublime to syrupy) with a small combo. Not a bad "finest hour," but if you're looking for a finer one, try Blue Note's The Best of Joe Williams. ~ Ken Chang, All Music Guide

TRACKS

1. All Right, O.K., You Win
2. Teach Me Tonight
3. Smack Dab in the Middle
4. Roll 'Em Pete
5. Jimmy's Blues
6. I Want a Little Girl
7. Party Blues
8. Louella
9. I Don't Like You No More
10. The Come Back
11. Too Good to Be True
12. Ev'ry Day
13. Winter Wonderland
14. Is You Is or Is You Ain'r My Baby?
15. Now You Tell Me
16. Every Day I Have the Blues

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