AMG Review of That's How They Do It in Dixie: The Essential Collection

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

Released in the summer of 2006, That's How They Do It in Dixie: The Essential Collection isn't the best Hank Williams, Jr. compilation, but it isn't the worst, either. At a mere 12 tracks, it's quite brief, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that there are a lot of hits missing -- particularly since some room had to be made for "That's How They Do It in Dixie," a wannabe rowdy singalong featuring the cartoony rednecks Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, and Van Zant. It's no great shakes but it's not bad either, and it fits nicely into a collection that emphasizes Hank Jr.'s rough and rowdy ways. Of course, there's "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight," but there's also "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound," "A Country Boy Can Survive," "If Heaven Ain't a Lot Like Dixie," "Family Tradition," "My Name Is Bocephus," and the in-the-studio duet with his Dad on "There's a Tear in My Beer." There are a bunch of big hits missing, and consequently this isn't necessarily the best introduction to Hank Jr.'s career, but for those who already know that they like him at his rough and rowdy best, this a good collection to have.