The #1 Hits Collection
Virile, yet vulnerable, with a throbbing voice that embodied desire and defeat, and a soul occupied equally by God and Guilt, Conway Twitty was perhaps the most effective Nashville Sound singer of his era. He turned out soap operas you paid attention to even when you thought you knew better. The best known is probably the suggestive "You've Never Been This Far Before," but his work during the period immediately prior to that 1973 hit is even better--1971's "How Much More Can She Stand," in particular. Here's a man that can't get cheating out of his mind no matter how much he plays with the kids or watches TV, and you can feel his lust and self-loathing increasing with each line. Conway was so secure in his insecurities he didn't even mind when the extraordinary John Hughey, who played pedal steel like a man laying a shroud over his best friend, stole the song, as on "(Lost Her Love) On Our Last Date." Even after all this clearly became shtick, Conway could make you believe stuff nobody else could.--John Morthland