Greatest Hits

Editors’ Notes Clint Black's first five albums spawned an astonishing 22 singles, 14 of which were Number One hits on the country charts. Greatest Hits contains those 14 Number Ones, and throws in two new songs for good measure — naturally, “Like the Rain” and “Half Way Up” immediately became Top Five hits themselves. Those songs were both highly orchestrated examples of Black’s style, the essence of which is acoustic songcraft. His debut album — probably his best, and his most acclaimed, having spawned an astonishing five consecutive Number One hits — was based on that principle and songs like “Killin’ Time” and “A Better Man” stand up today because they are built on the timeless formula of folk music. Even when Black branched out and started embroidering his songs with bigger instrumentation and backing singers, he stayed true to his songwriting values. Even “A Bad Goodbye,” his theatrical duet with Wynona Judd, succeeds because it remains at its core a song that could be effectively sung by the lonely folk singer, alone on his porch.