I Am Woman: Essential Helen Reddy Collection

Helen Reddy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 15, 1998)
• Original Release Date: September 15, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Razor & Tie
• ASIN: B00000ADLP
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,133 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #79 in Music > World Music > Australia & New Zealand

Track Listings

1. I Am Woman

2. Best Friend

3. I Don't Know How To Love

4. Crazy Love

5. More Than You Could Take

6. Peaceful

7. Delta Dawn

8. Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)

9. Keep On Singing

10. The West Wind Circus

11. You And Me Against The World

12. Angie Baby

13. Think I'll Write A Song

14. Emotion

15. Bluebird

16. Somewhere In The Night

17. Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady

18. I Can't Hear You No More

19. Fool On The Hill

20. You're My World

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Reddy Set Available: Thorough, Diverse, January 30, 2004

By 

James E. Bagley "Jim Bagley" (Sanatoga, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Am Woman: Essential Helen Reddy Collection (Audio CD)

Helen Reddy was one of the most successful - and talented - female pop singers of the '70s. This 23 track set is easily the best retrospective of her peak recording years, covering 1971 - 1981.

The set leads off with her biggest hit (and signature song), the feminist anthem "I Am Woman" from 1972. This self-penned classic brought Reddy a Grammy for best pop female vocalist and stardom. It was actually her third hit single, and for the rest of the set, this collection goes in chronological order. Her first hit "I Don't Know How To Love Him" from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar was the first hit single from an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Other early hits found Reddy championing the songwriting talents of Van Morrison ("Crazy Love") and Kenny Rankin ("Peaceful").

With "Delta Dawn" in 1973, Reddy began a string of hits detailing some colorful female characters, the others being "Ruby Red Dress" and "Angie Baby" (okay Angie was more than colorful, she was outright CREEPY!). Fortunately, these sagas were balanced by some lovely ballads like "You And Me Against The World" and "Emotion." Beginning with "Emotion" in 1975, Reddy's biggest hits for the next couple of years were predominantly ballads, be they tender ("Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady") or bombastic ("Somewhere In The Night," "You're My World"). The more uptempo fare during this time (Leon Russell's "Blue Bird," Carole King's "I Can't Hear You No More") while less successful, certainly have their charm as well. But by 1978, there were no more hits of any kind for Reddy.

Unlike other Reddy collections (such as the fifteen track GREATEST HITS AND MORE) that stick to the hits, this set also includes some of her best album tracks from her peak years. Among those included here are her breezy composition "Think I'll Write A Song" and the dramatic tour de force "The West Wind Circus" (my favorite Reddy performance). There's also some excellent soundtrack contributions: "Candle On The Water" from Disney's Pete's Dragon, her stunning take on the Beatles' "Fool On The Hill" for the documentary All This And World War II, as well as "Never Say Goodbye" from the John Belushi film Continental Divide.

It's a hit-filled set that nicely showcases Reddy's diversity.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A FINE COLLECTION FOR HELEN REDDY FANS, January 15, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am Woman: Essential Helen Reddy Collection (Audio CD)

This is the most complete Helen Reddy greatest hits collection you are likely to find. All of the well known top ten 70's hits are here, as well as some of her lesser known songs ( which happen to be my personal favorites on the CD). These include songs such as "West Wind Circus", "Emotion", "Bluebird", and "Candle on the Water." For some reason the technical quality of "Fool on the Hill" seems a little below the rest, but I still liked it. This is easy listening in the best sense.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars AT LEAST IT'S A START!, May 3, 2002

By 

Chuck Clough (Mpls, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am Woman: Essential Helen Reddy Collection (Audio CD)

I've been a Helen Reddy fan for many years. As a teenager in the
'70's, I started buying her albums (which I still want ALL of on
CD...how about it, Capitol?) and my 1977 high school graduation gift: two tickets to her concert that week- I was thrilled! If we
could only have one CD, though, this would be it. Helen showed an
amazing ability, along with her producers, to pick great songs to release. My favorite is "You're My World," which she just soars on! I wish there would have been room for "The Last Blues Song," etc., but I'll keep hoping for more on CD. BUY this one!