This nine-CD set is a lot more
Gene Autry than any casual fan would want to hear, but it is not without its considerable rewards and surprises, and might well convert casual fans into serious listeners. All of
Autry's surviving recordings, more than 200 of them, from October of 1929 until November of 1933, are included, and comprise a vast range of sounds and styles. What you get is a good, close musical look at
Autry's early evolution from a
Jimmie Rodgers admirer and soundalike artist with a serious bent toward blues into the unique figure that
Autry ultimately became as a country & western singer; the evolution of his sound from raw, relatively unskilled recording -- almost like field recordings -- to the beginning of a sophisticated studio sound; and of his accompaniment, from his own guitar and perhaps a partner and collaborator to backing by a relatively smooth professional coterie of players.