Customer Reviews

Crystal Gayle

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

 

 

Anyone who listens to this first recording that the 18 year Crystal Gayle recorded for MCA, you will hear the making of a superstar and have a clear understanding why she became a favorite around the world. In addition, you will hear the influence of her older sister, Loretta Lynn, as well as many of the songs that were written for Crystal by Loretta. An excellant debut recording that started an incredible career filled with wonderful additions to the world of music.

I was so excited when I found this. My Dad passed away when I was 9, but before that this was one of his favourite tapes, and we listened to it all the time. I'm 25 now, and it's suprising how many lyrics I still remember! After my Dad passed away the tape went missing, and it's so wonderful to again have something tabgible to sing along to and remember ny Dad with.
:)

This was Crystal's first album. Since this was under MCA, Crystal was looked at as Loretta's little sister. This shows through especially in the song Lynn penned Donna Fargo like song "Sparklin' Look of Love." It doesn't fit Crystal but she sings it with spunk anyway. Other than the two big hits this album made (Everyone Oughta Cry and the good sapper I've Cried the Blue Right Out of my Eyes) Clock on the Wall is another stand out.

Superb! You can't go wrong with this debut album. This was certainly a promise of greater things to come but this collections ranks with the best Crystal has ever done. Not one single cut on the album is filler. All would have made number one singles in my opinion!!

My favorites are "I've Cried the Blues out of My Eyes", "Too Far" and "Clock on the Wall".

But they are all fantastic!

Based on the aforementioned reviews, there seems to be a considerable amount of confusion in regard to this release, & it's not hard to see why--the material on this CD is NOT what was on Crystal Gayle's official debut album which was released in 1975 on the United Artists label and was also self-titled. The recordings on this CD are from much earlier--I think they all date from 1970 or so. Quite frankly, they sound like they were recorded even earlier than that... Of the ten songs on this collection, none reach the 3 minute mark, & only a few are over 2 & ½. Then there's the music itself, with numerous tracks including corny backing vocals that sound like they've been beamed in straight from the early `60s, not to mention the characteristically `60s sound of the reverb on Crystal`s vocals, etc. Also, there's the teenage soap opera lyrics on "Mama It's Different This Time" (written by Crystal`s sister Loretta Lynn), the weepy, self-pitying "Everybody Oughta Cry", & the hilarious "M.R.S. Degree". The difference between the tracks on here compared to her classic Allen Reynolds-produced work from the '70s & early '80s is jolting. Don't get me wrong though--this is an interesting disc. There's no denying that it's really interesting to hear Crystal, one of the finest vocalists of all time, at this extremely early stage in her musical career. And indeed, Crystal's vocals are incredible even here--she grabs you the instant her voice comes floating out of the speakers on the lovely album opening ballad "I've Cried (The Blue Right Out Of My Eyes)" which was released as a single in 1970 & was an early hit for Crystal. The upbeat, brassy "Sparkin' Look Of Love" (also written by Lynn) is irresistibly fun, as is the aforementioned "M.R.S. Degree", & "Show Me How" is a nicely tuneful, highly enjoyable ballad as well. Overall, the performances are nice, despite all the corniness. This collection, which was released as a very low-priced, budget line disc, is definitely worth having for any serious Crystal fan.

Crystal Gayle's older sister of course is Loretta Lynn; undoubtably thanks to Loretta's influence, Crystal was signed to Loretta's record label as a teenager in 1970 and scored a fair-sized hit right off the bat with the Loretta-penned "I've Cried the Blue Right Out of My Eyes" which went to #23. Unfortunately, Decca didn't seem to be too interested in Crystal, perhaps due to the less than blockbuster sales of two other Loretta siblings on the label, Peggy Sue and Jay Lee Webb, and even with this modest hit never released an album by her and just three other singles through 1973 that didn't go anywhere although "Everybody Oughta Cry" charted. Apparently she was dropped by the label that year but within two years she moved on to United Artists and started a string of major hits that would run over a dozen years. Decca really dropped the ball here because one of the great new vocalists of her era was handed to them on a silver platter and they didn't appreciate it at the time. By 1978 Crystal was with Dolly Parton the biggest female vocalist in country music and voila, Decca (now MCA) remembered she was once on their label and rushed out an album of her old tracks (all four singles with their "B" sides plus two unreleased songs) and produced a fairly successful album which went top 20 and even the rerelease of "Cried" cracked the top 40 again.

This is a much countrier Crystal Gayle than fans are used to via the pop-flavored hits of the late 70's and 80's. Three tracks were written for Crystal by her sister Loretta and serve her lovely voice well. Crystal also shines on Marty Robbins' girl-gone-wrong ballad "Too Far" and she's a pre-feminist hoot as the collegiate who only wants a husband in the deliciously comic "M.r.s. Degree", which was written by Ann J. Morton, a singer-songwriter who had several chart records back in the 1970's. "I Cried the Blue Right Out of My Eyes" is both an impressive showcase for both singer Crystal and songwriter Loretta, far more meloncholy than most Lynn originals.

The 1978 album was reissued on CD in 1995 but has been out of print for some time. It's worth tracking down not only for Crystal completists but fans who enjoy country music of the early 1970's. Crystal might not have been that successful during that early stage of her career but it's clear her talent was already fully developed.