Not to be confused with Hank Thompson's similarly titled, classic album of drinking songs, SIX PACK TO GO: GONNA SHAKE THIS SHACK TONIGHT is a collection that gathers together a generous 33 tunes by the honky-tonk hero. Besides the alcoholic anthem of the title track, there's a wealth of tunes that showcase Thompson's blend of jazzy Western Swing riffs, boogie beats, and honky-tonk heartbreak. From the hellbent barroom stomper "Drivin' Nails in My Coffin" to the crying-my-eyes-out lament of "How Many Teardrops Will it Take," this carefully compiled anthology offers a well-rounded portrait of the country king. Focusing on the roadhouse rockers more than the ballads, this disc digs deep into Thompson's catalog, eschewing such obvious hits as "Wild Side of Life" in favor of some of the less explored areas of Thompson's long, rich career.

German completists Bear Family have done the world a great service by painstakingly anthologising the early work of Johnny Cash in their MAN IN BLACK box sets. The first two volumes collect Cash's earliest work, including his stellar rockabilly-influenced Sun recordings. This third installment in the series is no less essential, though, as it represents some of Cash's most progressive work. Most of the material included here was recorded during a time when Cash's iconoclast/outlaw ethic fell in rather serendipitously with the contemporaneous underground/countercultural movement. Ever the champion of the underdog and the downtrodden, Cash recorded his two legendary "prison" albums in '68 and '69, AT FOLSOM PRISON and AT SAN QUENTIN, which are included here in all their gritty, near-riot-instigating glory. In the late-'60s, Cash also began championing the work of contemporary folk-rock singer songwriters like Tim Hardin, and Cash's version of Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter" is a memorable one. The overall impression on this set is one of an artist who refused to stand still, determined to pursue his muse wherever it led him.