Customer Reviews

Anthology

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Jody is remembered (if at all) for Queen of the house, a song set to the tune of Roger Miller's King of the road, which provides an excellent opening to this anthology. Although she occasionally had hits with original songs, most of her success was with country versions of pop hits. While this allowed her to make a career in country music, it means that subsequent generations of fans are less likely to concern themselves with her legacy. For that reason, I was surprised but overjoyed when this anthology was released.

The best of Jody's exquisite covers to be found here include Look at mine (Petula Clark), He's so fine (Chiffons), Baby I'm yours (Barbara Lewis), Be my baby (Ronettes), To know him is to love him (Teddy bears), House of the rising son (traditional song - Jody's version is based on the famous Animals cover), Natural woman (Aretha Franklin) and Will you love me tomorrow (Shirelles).

Among her original songs, my favorite is There's a party going on. What makes this particularly interesting is that Lynn Anderson, whose then-husband Glenn Sutton wrote the song, also recorded it (in her case, on her Listen to a country song album). It is therefore surprising that Jody's version rather than Lynn's was released as a single, but both versions are equally good.

Country girl is a title that has been used for several completely different songs, but this one is the same song that appeared on Olivia Newton John's Long live love album, recorded at about the same time. Another original song, Let's go down to the river, is a duet with Johnny Paycheck.

It is a miracle that this anthology ever appeared. Jody Miller did not change the course of country music history, but her music is very enjoyable.

this is a great cd, but the site has not correctly given all the tracks that appear on the cd. no 21 and 22 are NOT as listed but as follows: 21. kiss away and 22. long black limousine. GREAT listening. one of the best of the 70s. enjoy

With a career spanning the 60's and 70's and a substantial number of charted country and pop tunes, it's amazing that there's been virtually none of Jody Miller's music in print on digital media this far into the CD age. Bravo to Renaissance Records, the small indie in Tennessee for bringing this material into the digital age.

This collection covers Miller's early pop material for Capital and more of her country-oriented work for Sony in the 70's. While some may berate her early work such as "Queen of the House", as pop trash, her treatment of the song reveals her skill with even less-than-admirable material. While there are 24 tunes here illustrating her ability to seamlessly handle pop, country and standards, there are a few notable omissions. One such missing track is Miller's pop-charting remake of the Springfield's "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" - a strange situation considering all of her other pop-charted tunes are included.

The sound quality overall is excellent and all tunes are in stereo, however some tracks are in the "wide mono" sometimes used (for no truly good cause). The liner notes are a bit of a disappointment in that they consist mainly of ruminations about her personal life and are lacking in her musical history.

With little else in the market, this piece is an excellent place to get acquainted with Miller's music or, if a longtime fan, to get reaquainted with this talented singer.

I wished many a time for a Jody Miller CD before this one was released, and I was so thankful to get it. I own almost all of her LP vinyl albums and have burned most of the tracks not included here to CD. It is unbelievable that Jody never attained the heights of Martina McBride, Connie Smith, Tammy Wynette, Shania Twain and other gal singers. She is every bit as good or better. I'm a retired professional singer/musician and broadcaster (37 years), and I know music. Jody Miller was as good as they come. She has a true professional singing voice. . .outstanding voice control no matter the range, clarity of lyrics, sings with innermost feeling, innermost infection. And, as if it really mattered, she had the good looks to go with the great voice. She's a sadly overlooked talent. Buy this CD. You'll never regret it!!! -- Norm in Ocala, FL

I'll put Jody Miller up against any of the female "bubblegum" singers of what they call country music today. This collection is fabulous and I agree with the reviewers below that Jody Miller should have ascended the heights of country music stardom in the vein of Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton! She certainly was just as good if not better. Her voice is absolutely marvelous. I agree with the reviewer below who said the outstanding cut on this collection is "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow". It is out of this world and I can't stop listening to it!! "Kiss Away" is another outstanding cut! Also worthy of note is "When the New Wears Off of Our Love" and "Look at Mine". Heck, they're all outstanding!! It just makes me wish that Country Music was still like this!!

Jody Miller could easily be thought of as the Martina McBride of the 1970's but while Jody did not have nearly the success Martina has had in recent years (despite a decent career run of almost 15 years and winning a Grammy in 1965 for Top Female Country Vocalist) she has it all over Martina in terms of a far more powerful, flavorful voice. One of the most remarkable things about Jody is she still sounds "country" even when remaking rock n'roll favorites with her sheen-smooth pop voice. Jody's greatest country success came 1971-1974 with an almost unbroken string of top ten hits, many of them remakes. While the arrangements of her BABY I'M YOURS comes perilously close to being a carbon of Barbara Lewis' original (it's still a magificient track) her HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN turns that moody folk rocker into a Broadway show stopper with ten times the feeling of a song from the Great White Way. But let's not forget her originals, the stunning THERE'S A PARTY GOIN' ON in which Jody recounts life with a adulterous husband with the detachment of a newcaster, the sexy yet wholesome GOOD NEWS, the saucier LOOK AT MINE, the uptown girls "Stand By Your Man" DARLING YOU CAN ALWAYS COME BACK HOME. Yet the gem of the collection is the astonishingly political HOME OF THE BRAVE about small town intolerance to a youngster with a "hippie" bent which is stunningly contemporary today. Jody's misfortune was hitting her peak during the era of the greatest women country stars and there was just too much competition to stay at the very top very long but while she was up there, she hit more than her share of home runs and the music still packs a wallop some thirty years later.

This is a great collection from a great lady with a great voice from an era when talent and not looks ruled the roost!! Not that she didn't have the looks, she certainly did but what makes Jody Miller special is her ability to take a song made popular by other artists and make it her own. Not many people can do this. Case in point: Reba McEntire's disastrous "Starting Over" CD...in no way could she even start to match the originals. But Jody's case is different because she HAD the ability to take classic material and make it her own. Her delivery and phrasing are impeccable. She also had several hits on original material the best of which is "Look at Mine". "Country Girl" is also a great cut! "Reflections" is excellent. Of the covers she does justice to all of them and shines especially on "He's So Fine" and the beautiful "Baby I'm Yours". She is especially touching and poignant on the Shirelle's hit "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and at the end when she softly whispers "Tell Me Baby" right before the last tag on "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" one feels the song because she feels it. The arrangement is exceptional!! A great interpreter of lyrics she knows how to put a song over without going over the top like today's country wannabes. She never quite made it to the upper heights of 70s country like Loretta or Tammy but her talent certainly matched up to all the best! This compilation is a testament to that!

Always overlooked and underrated except for her few pop hits, such as "Queen of the House", etc, which I wish the music industry and listeners familiar with her much too brief career would simply ignore. Jody's best work is NOT the songs she is remembered for, they are all the other tracks on her records. Her voice is clear as a bell with a wide and absolutely beautiful vocal range, holding a clear note as long as Mt. Everest is high. I have all of her albums and have deeply missed her lovely voice ever since she stopped recording. Her renditions or covers of other singer's songs are definitely so much better that she belongs in a higher category of achievement. I have always wondered what happened to cause her to stop singing with that incredible voice of hers! Welcome back, Jody, on this CD. I can only hope that the listening public will bypass "Queen of the House" to discover your real talent on all the other tracks you have recorded. I hope this anthology sells well enough to encourage you, Jody Miller, to begin recording again. Only Patsy Cline had a voice to match Jody's and I believe that Jody has everthing it takes to become another true vocal legend. I am familiar with ALL past and present and upcoming female country singers. Listen for yourself to her gutsy yet beautiful voice and you will probably agree that no one in today's music scene can match her passionate talent!

Jody Miller made the switch from pop to country without a hitch and for nearly a decade released some of the best pop-oriented country songs around. This collection begins with two of her pop hits (from Capital Records), QUEEN OF THE HOUSE and HOME OF THE BRAVE and then quickly moves into what is the heart of her musical career - her Epic Records years. Produced by Billy Sherill (who had by this time made Tammy Wynette into the First Lady of Country Music), these are the best tracks on the cd! 1971's HE'S SO FINE and 1972's THERES A PARTY GOIN ON are the most outstanding, although by the time she released GOOD NEWS in 1973, Billboard was claiming the album that it came from to be "one of the finest country albums ever cut". Always honoring her pop roots, Miller often re-recorded pop standards and a few were released as country singles, including BABY I'M YOURS, BE MY BABY, TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM, HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN, NATURAL WOMAN and 1976's WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW. By the end of this collection, Miller's charty popularity had began to fade and Jerry Crutchfield stepped in for an outgoing Billy Sherill. The result, WHEN THE NEW WEARS OFF OF OUR LOVE, was a short-lived come back special. All in all, Jody Miller was a cross between Joni Mitchell and Tammy Wynette (indeed, Miller covered all of the contemporary Wynette classics) and while no vocal legend, her delivery is top notch and is of the type that feels immediately familar and comfortable. To quote one of of my favorite Miller hits, country music should be saying to Jody: DARLIN YOU CAN ALWAYS COME BACK HOME!

I've been a Jody Miller fan since the 1960s and bought all of her albums, so I'm a little disappointed in some of the selections. For example, she does an awesome "Born to Lose" (just as good as Ray Charles' version) and does wonderful interpretations of Hank Williams' songs, none of which are included. However, it's so exciting that at last her songs are realeased on a CD. Now, come on, let's have some more!