Super Hits - Joe Diffie

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Reviewed by Kathy Coleman

There's not a whole lot that needs to be said about Joe Diffie. With one of the strongest voices and most solid delivery in country music, he remains a traditionalist who has proven to be truly consistent and unique in a sea of cookie cutout "cowboys."

Now that Sony/Monument has released Joe, they've also decided to release yet another "Hits" collection in addition to the ones which are already in wide release. There's nothing new or different about "Super Hits," and it's not nearly as comprehensive as either Joe's Greatest Hits or 16 Biggest Hits. There are only ten tracks on Super Hits, and it's missing two of the best of Joe's early songs: "John Deere Green" and the superior "Honky Tonk Attitude."

However, if you're just getting started with Joe, this is a bargain CD that's probably worth picking up. It DOES contain the infectiously fun "Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die)," the delightful "Bigger Than The Beatles," the pure fun of "If The Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)," and the catchy "Third Rock From The Sun." It also has his incredibly poignant "Ships That Don't Come In" (any Joe collection is incomplete without this song: "So here's to all the soldiers who ever died in vain/the insane locked up in themselves/the homeless down on Main/To those who stand on empty shores/and spit against the wind/and those who wait forever for ships that don't come in"), as well as sweet ballads "So Help Me Girl," "Home," and "If You Want Me To."

From a glance at the advertisement that passes for a CD booklet, it looks as though the Super Hits series is dedicated to great country artists who have been deemed "too country" for country radio, and have been reduced to a double handful of selected songs. I personally think you'd better spend your money on Joe's 16 Biggest Hits, which has these ten songs plus 6 more; but if this one comes at a good price, grab it. Listen. Enjoy what country music was really aiming to be in the early 90's, and what it could have been. Joe sings good country music. It's solid, real, and always excellent.

Song List:

1. Third Rock from the Sun
2. So Help Me Girl
3. Bigger Than the Beatles
4. Home
5. If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)
6. Ships That Don't Come in
7. New Way (To Light Up an Old Flame)
8. If You Want Me to
9. Pickup Man
10. Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)