Rating:
Genre:
Country
Release Date: 07/29/2008
Although
Till the End (1976) was
Vern Gosdin's solo debut, the opening track
"Hangin' On" instantly re-establishes the artist as "The Voice" via a remake of the
Gosdin Brothers' --
Vern and brother
Rex -- 1967 Grammy-nominated hit. However, he'd all but abandoned the music business by the mid-'70s. Instigated by pop music impresario
Gary Paxton -- owner of the
Gosdin Brothers' former record label,
Vern cut demos of
"Hangin' On" and ballad
"Yesterday's Gone." These came to the attention of
Emmylou Harris, who had known
Gosdin on a social, but not professional level. Her vocal contributions to both were substantial enough to score
Gosdin a deal with the Nashville, TN branch of
Elektra Records. As this album attests, the results were uniformly strong and unanimously lauded as the long-player yielded the U.S. Country Top 40 singles
"Mother Country Music," "It Started All Over Again" featuring
Janie Fricke, the aforementioned
"Hangin' On" and
"Yesterday's Gone" with
Emmylou Harris, as well as the title track
"'Till the End." Plus, not only did half of the ten-song platter -- via five Top 40 Country singles -- make it onto the charts, the entire effort would garner a deserved spot in the Top Ten LP survey. Considering the upscale countrypolitan hybrid that began to flood the sounds coming out of Nashville during the late '70s, it is little wonder why
Gosdin is an icon of the genre. In fact, even the tunes relegated to the B-sides and deep cuts are truly exceptional. The
Harlan Howard-penned
"Chokin' Kind" earns its place beside the likes of
Waylon Jennings and
Freddy Fender's versions, with the smooth delivery heard here leaning towards
Joe Simon and
Allen Toussaint's respectively soulful '60s interpretations. To the same end, the rich sonorous delivery of
Ewan MacColl's
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is as striking in its simplicity as it is heartfelt in sentiment.
Till the End firmly cemented the triumphant return of
Vern Gosdin, whose run on
Elektra continued, ultimately producing another two albums in as many years. In 2008
Collectors' Choice Music reissued the disc with an essay from noted author
Colin Escott.
~Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
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