Complete Epic Hits

Jody Miller (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 24, 2012)
• Original Release Date: 2012
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Real Gone Music
• ASIN: B0068SBVNI
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,595 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Look at Mine

2. If You Think I Love You Now (I've Just Started)

3. He's So Fine

4. Baby, I'm Yours

5. Be My Baby

6. Let's All Go Down to the River (w/Johnny Paycheck)

7. There's a Party Goin' On

8. To Know Him Is to Love Him

9. Good News

10. Darling, You Can Always Come Back Home

11. The House of the Rising Sun

12. Reflections

13. Natural Woman

14. Country Girl

15. The Best in Me

16. Don't Take It Away

17. Will You Love Me Tomorrow?

18. Ashes of Love

19. When the New Wears off Our Love

20. Spread a Little Love Around

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

With this Real Gone release, we take a long-overdue look at the career of pioneering country-pop crossover artist Jody Miller, whose mellow mix of folk, country, rock and pop influences paved the way for the radio-friendly recordings of such female singers as Olivia Newton-John, Anne Murray and Linda Ronstadt. Jody first hit the charts in 1965 with "Queen of the House," her answer song to Roger Miller's "King of the Road," but in 1970 she signed to Epic and, under the guidance of Nashville legend Billy Sherrill, notched a string of chart hits throughout the decade, all 25 of which appear on this 69-minute collection. Most of these songs have never appeared on CD before, and they come with notes featuring quotes from Jody herself as well as photos from her private collection. Pure country ear (and eye) candy!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jody Miller - What a Treasure!, January 26, 2012

By 

650AM - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Epic Hits (Audio CD)

I just got my autographed copy of "Jody Miller - Complete Epic Hits" directly from Real Gone Records and have several brief observations.
First, it is SO wonderful to hear high-quality, CD renditions of Jody's steller Epic Hits such as "Good News," "He's So Fine," "Baby I'm Yours," and, from the latter part of her Epic years, "Ashes of Love" and "When the New Wears Off of Our Love." Most of these I have only on old 45s.
Jody's singing style and phrasing are so unique and her voice so wonderful, I cannot believe it. I love how she often chose one word from a song phrase and really put a burst of added punch into it... "He's so Fine:" "HEY, he's so fine...;" "Look at Mine:" "I've got everything you need ALLLLL the time;" and in "Good News," a little naughtiness (for the early 70's) with: "Lord knows I had a time with YOU last night!" Purrrrrr...
The songs from the 1970-1974 period have that warm "Nashville Sound" from Billy Sherrill, several featuring backing from the Jordanaires, all in a style very similar to her then-Epic/Columbia labelmates Tammy Wynette and Lynn Anderson. Those thereafter are of less quality it seems... and the material is not as compelling... perhaps that is why we can see from the liner notes that Jody's charting levels, with just an exception or two, steadily declined throughout the decade covered here.
Sadly, my copy of this CD reproduces much of the music with too much of a brash, high-end sound (scratchiness on words with "S" in them, etc. I don't know if this is endemic of all the CDs produced or not. I noticed that a prior reviewer of this CD said that three of the songs were "accidently" released in MONO! How the heck did that happen?
I also note that while Real Gone Records touts the photos included with the set, there are really only about five photos used. The cover photo chosen is somewhat unflattering for such a beautiful woman, and the packaging is a flimsy cardboard sleeve. While there is an insert with some basic liner notes on each song and comments from Jody, other information I would have expected, like recording dates, places, and musician credits are sadly missing. This release deserves better than this!
But PLEASE don't let this stop you from hearing again (or for the first time) one of the best all-time female Country Music voices. Jody was at the peak of her talent and beauty during this era and we are still honored to have her with us as she just turned 70 in November 2011. Cheers to this "Real Gone" release AND to JODY MILLER!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Country-charting 1970s Nashville pop, January 24, 2012

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Epic Hits (Audio CD)

Jody Miller's recording catalog is often abbreviated to her first hit, the Grammy-winning "Queen of the House," and though its novelty answer to Roger Miller's "King of the Road" may get the most spins on nostalgia radio, it's hardly representative of her lengthy hit-making career. Her personal appearances on teen shows Hollywood-A-Go-Go and Shindig positioned her for pop success, but her follow-up singles found only middling results and failed to cross back over to the country chart. She had only one other hit for Capitol (the terrific protest song "Home of the Brave") before moving to Epic, where Billy Sherrill was ready to leverage her pop abilities in countrypolitan arrangements.

With a zippy horn chart, fast-shuffling drums and tightly arranged choral backing, Miller's Epic debut "Look at Mine" just missed the country Top 20. Ironically, the chorus sounds just like the country-rock Linda Ronstadt was beginning to record at Miller's previous label, Capitol. Her next single, "If You Think I Love You" is a torchy ballad in the Patsy Cline vein, with crying steel and cooing background singers giving it a decided Nashville edge. Her catalog features a generous helping of girl group songs, including "He's So Fine," "Be My Baby" and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow." She also covered Barbara Lewis' "Baby I'm Yours," Phil Spector's "To Know Him is to Love Him," the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun," and Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman," all with polite, mainstream arrangements that kept country touches on their edges.

Sherrill was a canny producer who crafted the arrangements to highlight his singers. He adds a church-style chorus behind the Johnny Paycheck duet "Let's All Go Down to the River," drops the instruments for the sotto voce passages of "There's a Party Going On" and crafts a soulful backing for the emotional monologues in "Don't Take it Away." Real Gone's collection pulls together all twenty-five of Miller's Epic A-sides (all stereo except "Soft Lights and Slow Sexy Music," "(I Wanna) Love My Life Way" and "Kiss Away," which were accidentally in mono on the first run of the CDs), concluding with the singer's farewell to the charts with an excellent 1979 cover of Robin McNamara's "Lay a Little Lovin' on Me." At that point Miller retired to raise a family, leaving behind this decade-long legacy of hit-making. The CD and eight-page booklet (with liner notes by Bill Dahl) are delivered in a two-panel cardboard folder. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]