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Critic's Review
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
There have been many Lefty Frizzell compilations over the years, most of them excellent, but few surpass Columbia/Legacy's comprehensive, listenable 1997 double-disc set Look What Thoughts Will Do, which covers nearly his entire career, stopping short of his last hits in the mid-'70s. Raven's 2005 set That's the Way Life Goes 1950-1975 contends with the Legacy compilation by covering more territory while simultaneously being more concise. It's a single-disc set running a generous 28 tracks, beginning with his first big hit, "If You Got the Money I've Got the Time," and ending a quarter a century later with such marvelous latter-day singles as "That's the Way Love Goes," "I Never Go Around Mirrors," and "Life's Like Poetry." In between, all of his big hits and signature songs are present, including "I Love You a Thousand Ways," "Look What Thoughts Will Do," "Always Late (With Your Kisses)," "Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses)," "Run 'Em Off," "The Long Black Veil," and "Saginaw, Michigan." Since most of the music Lefty recorded was at the very least very good, more extensive sets like Look What Thoughts Will Do have more great music to offer -- there's simply more of it there -- but as an introduction and overview to Frizzell's career, That's the Way Life Goes is the best compilation yet.
