Arriving four years after Rhinos 21 # Hits: The Ultimate Collection, Time Lifes 20-track All-Time Greatest Hits covers much of the same territory. The compilations share 14 tracks, which makes sense because those 14 songs are the core of Bucks canon — Act Naturally, Loves Gonna Live Here, Streets of Bakersfield, Waitin in Your Welfare Line, Sams Place, Ive Got a Tiger by The Tail — and its hard to imagine a hits collection without them. This means the difference between the two discs is at the margins; the Rhino set winds up including more of Bucks interesting detours, such as the fuzz-colored Whos Gonna Mow Your Grass or galloping cover of Johnny B. Goode, whereas this digs deeper into pure country, adding the classic Cryin Time and Close Up the Honky Tonks. Neither one is better than the other — both are terrific samplers of Buck Owens & the Buckaroos at their peak, both are great introductions to one of the great bands of country music, both are tremendously entertaining, and picking one over another is just a matter of taste, availability, and price. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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