Big & Rich
first hit the charts a mere five years before they released their
Greatest Hits
in 2009, but their presence was so pervasive it seems like they've been around twice as long. Part of the reason for this is that they wrote and produced for a huge number of artists, sometimes giving their best music to other singers, and the result of this is that
plays a bit patchier than you might imagine, with the earliest hits and songs --
"Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy),"
"Wild West Show,"
"Holy Water,"
the barroom brag
"Kick My Ass"
-- holding up better than the power ballads and goofiness of their second two albums. Although anybody who wants to really hear
at their best should probably stick with their debut,
Horse of a Different Color
, those who want just the hits will find them all here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine