I Saw the Light [Remastered]

1	I Saw the Light 2:45
2	Calling You 2:54
3	Dear Brother 2:47
4	Wealth Won't Save Your Soul 2:47
5	(I'm Gonna) Sing, Sing, Sing 1:51
6	Message to My Mother 4:06
7	How Can You Refuse Him Now? 2:38
8	When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels 2:50
9	Jesus Remembered Me 2:54
10	A House of Gold 2:16
11	Thank God 2:20
12	The Angel of Death 2:23
13	The Prodigal Son Bonus Track 2:27
14	Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine Bonus Track 3:29
15	A Tramp on the Street Bonus Track 3:39
16	I'll Have a New Body (I'll Have a New Life) Bonus Track 2:05

Barnes & Noble

Very few songwriters can claim to have penned sacred tunes so beloved they became instant standards. Hank Williams did it several times over on this remarkable country gospel set. "I Saw the Light" remains one of the best known and most performed gospel tunes of all time. The addition of the classics "How Can You Refuse Him Now," "Wealth Won't Save Your Soul," and others makes I SAW THE LIGHT required listening. The great country songwriter lived hard, ultimately allowing his vices to overcome his body. The fear and dread of a self-conscious sinner -- as well as the humble, redemptive joy of the truly faithful -- appear aplenty in Williams's sacred songs. Cuts such as "Angel of Death" and "Calling You" bristle with the immediacy of a man in search of mercy. Hank had a gift to make public longings sound like his own private trials. When Williams pleads "Sinner hear me when I say, fall down on your knees and pray" in the middle of "House of Gold," the tremble in his voice leaves little doubt he is talking to himself as much as to anyone else. I SAW THE LIGHT also features Williams's band laying down their often-imitated controlled honky-tonk. Although many of these tunes have been recorded dozens of times, they have never been delivered with the artistry and energy found on this album. Karl Hagstrom Miller

All Music Guide

Mercury's collection of Hank Williams' spirituals, I Saw the Light, ups the ante of the previous Polydor collection of the same title by offering up four bonus tracks and liner notes by historian Colin Escott, who authored what is considered the most exhaustive biography of Williams. Although the songs on this set aren't as well known as the many classics penned by Williams, every track presented here is up to par with the greatness of Williams' legacy and should be considered an important annex to his secular music, as well as a fine example of the canon of country gospel. Gregory McIntosh