Customer Reviews

The Complete MCA Studio Recordings

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This collection includes four complete Nanci Griffith albums: Lone Star State of Mind, Little Love Affairs, Storms, and Late Night Grande Hotel, plus a couple of previously unreleased tracks. They're all very good albums, so this collection is a real bargain. It's not meant as a "best of" collection, but rather four of her albums, in their entirety. I like that, because best-of collections inevitably leave out some really good tracks. I'm a big fan of Nanci Griffith, with her bell-like little-girl voice and tuneful songs. Almost all of these songs are classics in their own right, and anyone who likes Nanci will appreciate them. Newcomers will be won over. Her music is exceptional: melodic, beautifully performed and with obvious emotional involvement. If you already have one or more of the albums, you'll have to weigh the price of getting the rest of them included here as a batch vs. buying them individually. On the other hand, there are a couple of nice bonus tracks not on the albums. If you're just starting a collection of Nanci's music this is a fabulous deal, a wealth of great music for a great price.

There's something a bit frustrating about the MCA portion of Nanci Griffith's career. She has a couple of five-star albums to her credit dating to before and after the period covered here, but none from during the MCA era. All four of the albums collected here have some wonderful songs and a few forgettable ones. The good news, though, is that none of the songs are actually bad. Besides, with four albums for less than the price of two, a few weak links are perfectly acceptable.

If any of those four is missing from your collection (and especially if you only have a greatest-hits CD), this is worth picking up. All four of the MCA albums featured at least one great song that hasn't turned up on any of her live albums or compilations. "Lone Star State of Mind," "Never Mind," "Love Wore A Halo," "San Diego Serenade," and "You Made This Love A Teardrop" have all aged just as well as concert staples like "Gulf Coast Highway" or "I Wish It Would Rain" (which are, of course, here as well).

For the completists, there are three previously unreleased (or nearly-unreleased) songs here. Of these, the bouncy "Tumble and Fall" is definitely a keeper, and "Stand Your Ground" is also pretty good. The third, a cover of "Wooden Heart," is just about identical to every other version of that song I've ever heard, so if you liked those, you'll like her version too.

this is the way I like it!
4 albums on 2 cd's..
couldn't have come at a better time since I just now discovered this inviting angelic heart warming voice.
she is a beautiful lady
these are her beautiful songs

Highly Recommended!

This is one of the best compilations of her music I've heard - and at a good price to boot! It's a great sampling for new fans and old ones alike - an absolute delight to my ears!

For any new Nanci Griffith fan, this is a great way to get started collecting her music. Also, for any old Nanci Griffith fan, this is a great addition to your collection. It's packed with 46 songs on two CDs and they're all great. Nanci brings to mind artists such as Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn and John Prine. Great CD, Highly recommended.

Smooth and easy listening. Enjoy her voice and the songs she has penned. Some great duets also. Have other cd's by her that are just as good or better.

As an introductory CD to Nanci's vast library, this is the one to buy. Fair Warning....this CD does not have a version of Love at the Five & Dime. I can't imagine how that got overlooked. But, it does give you an excuse to purchase "One Fair Summer Evening" which contains the best version of that song.

Very well put together and a good retrospective of her career thus far.
Not a bad track on the disc. Good value for your money. Ya gotta love Nanci, she's our own AMERICAN TREASURE, and we are better off for it.

This Disc and One Fair Summer Evening should be a part of every audiophiles collection!

I enjoyed listening to these tracks, but I found Ms. Griffith's later recordings to be much more powerful. In particular, "Last of the True Believers" just blows me away whenever I play it.

This "Complete Recordings" double-CD set is a good value, and anyone who loves Nanci Griffith will appreciate that this appears to be a complete collection of recordings from a period in the artist's life.