Personnel: Lefty Frizzell (vocals, guitar).
A best-of set containing a mere 16 songs seems like pretty short shrift for an artist as historically significant as Lefty Frizzell, to say nothing of under-representing his hefty discography. Still, 16 BIGGEST HITS is a great place for the uninitiated to begin exploring the man who influenced the likes of George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson. Many of Frizzell's most essential songs are here, including "The Long Black Veil," "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time," and "Saginaw, Michigan," with plenty of the man's wit and pathos on offer ("I Never Go Around Mirrors"). Frizzell's smooth croon is easy on the ear, yet his music retains the rootsy grit of traditional honky tonk.