Sony’s Essential Marty Robbins highlights 40 remastered tracks recorded during the singer’s lengthy tenure with Columbia, following the major paths Robbins’ 30-year-career took. Starting with his first number one country single, “I’ll Go On Alone,” in 1952 and the crossover pop collaborations of the era with Mitch Miller and the Ray Conniff Orchestra, the package wraps up with his final Top Ten country single from 1982, “Honkytonk Man.” Ample space is given to the much revered gunfighter ballads of the early ’60s and several Billy Sherrill-produced singles in the mid-’70s. While these discs contain a wealth of Robbins material from which to choose, Essential only hints at the singer’s ability to easily grasp and interpret varied stylistic genres of music. With that in mind, Sony’s 1991 Essential Marty Robbins: 1951-1982 is still the recommended set as it features an extra ten tracks. – Al Campbell