Customer Reviews

Helen Reddy - Greatest Hits

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During the explosive early days of the women's liberation movement, this dynamic female member of the British Invasion dove head first into the controversy, becoming an outspoken and often harshly criticized spokesperson for the emotionally charged issue.

However, no matter what anyone thought of her politics, no one could deny that Helen Reddy was a superior songstress, possessing a vibrant voice and a dynamic delivery. Her music remains as magical today as the day it first hit the airwaves.

Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits (and More) is without question the finest collection of her material available. From the powerful I Am Woman, the cross-over smash Delta Dawn (equally successful for Tanya Tucker on the country side), and the provocative Angie Baby, to her brilliant cover of You're My World (arguably better than the original), this disc offers hit after hit after delightful hit. The mastering of the disc is exquisite, and the sound is bright and clear.

Anyone who followed the pop/rock music of the early and mid-seventies can give you several reasons why Helen Reddy was a major musical force during those years. This disc can give you fifteen. Don't miss it!

The first track on HELEN REDDY'S GREATEST HITS (AND MORE) is the song "I Am Woman." If Reddy would never have done anything else, she would have still been remembered for that song. Before I purchased this album, I didn't even know that Reddy was the woman responsible for the song. But now I do. Anyway, I purchased this album because of the song "Keep on Singing." When I was a senior in high school our choir sung "Keep on Singing" and the words have always stuck with me ever since then. They've inspired me on days when nothing else (including scripture) could. I didn't find out until recently who was responsible for the song. When I found out about Reddy and that "Keep on Singing" was on this album, I purchased it. The album is worth owning just for that. However, besides "I Am Woman" and "Keep on Singing," there are several other good songs on the album that one might enjoy:

"I Don't Know How to Love Him" (From JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR)

"Angie Baby"

"Somewhere in the Night"

"You're My World"

My only real complaint about the album is that a few of the songs haven't aged well over the years. Besides that, most of the songs on the album are kind of folksy, but with a feminine slant. I'm not usually into that type of music, but overall I enjoyed the album.

I found the album in my daughter's CD player in her car. When it came on I recognized Helen Reddy, although I hadn't heard "Tell Me How To Love Him" by her. I found myself singing along with each song and remembering some of my best times. The album lightened a day which started out very poorly - I was going to recover property from my car which had been totaled with my daughter in it. Thanks, Helen. You made my day...again

These songs take me back, but they still sound fresh. Most of her top songs are here, and these were huge hits..."I Am Woman", "Leave Me Alone", "You And Me Against The World", "Angie Baby", "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady", and the old Cilla Black classic "You're My World". This disc will certainly please Helen Reddy fans.

Where do I begin? Grammy Award and American Music Award winner. Star on the Walk of Fame. First Australian with her own American TV show. Need I go on? There was no bigger Pop Queen in the 70's than Helen Reddy! With 3 Number Ones on the Hot 100, 9 Number Ones all together and 11 Top 20 pop hits, there was no one bigger. Olivia Newton-John for the most part was a country singer during the 70's. Donna Summer was the Queen of Disco. Diana Ross and Barbra Streisand are iconic for much more than just music. However, Helen Reddy was the Queen of 70's Pop, pure and simple. No one has an angelic voice quite like hers. This collection is a good starter for the new fan. But once you listen to her studio albums, you will be hooked like I was way back in 1971 when she released her first single "I Don't Know How to Love" (which is included here). A MUST IN ANYONE'S FEMALE POP VOCALIST COLLECTION!

It seems as though the era of women's liberation was a long time ago, but of course it was not. Some would argue that women's liberation continues even today. Regardless, Helen Reddy was considered one of the women at the forefront of the battle. Her pop song "I Am Woman" was considered by many to be an anthem for the women's liberation movement. Of course, Helen Reddy sang much more than just that one song, and this collection provides a good selection of Helen Reddy's music.

This CD is heavy with love songs in all their various forms. "I Don't Know How to Love Him," the poignant "You and Me against the World," the poetic "Emotion," the intimate and tender "Somewhere in the Night," which is great mood music, and the tribute to love "You're My World."

"Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)," "Delta Dawn," the surrealistic and fantastic "Angie Baby," Helen Reddy's equivalent of "You're so Vain" is embodied in "Ain't no Way to Treat a Lady," the fast paced song about not putting up with his shenanigans "I Can't Hear You no More," and "Make Love to Me" are about love gone awry, sometimes involving mental illness or a man taking advantage of an innocent girl, and sometimes it involves both.

Other songs deal with miscellaneous subjects. "Keep on Singing" is about the love of music and how music can give you comfort in harsh times. The song "Peaceful" is about living life and stopping to smell the roses and remembering times past and times yet to come. "The Happy Girls" sings about loneliness and finding someone to love, a real someone versus and idealized someone.

My favorite songs are the mellow songs. I think "Peaceful," "You and Me against the World," "I Can't Hear You no More," "Somewhere in the Night," and "The Happy Girls" are the most mellow and prettiest songs on this CD. I think Helen Reddy's voice provides the emotional drive for each of these songs, bringing them to life. All the songs after these are bonus songs in my mind.

Helen Reddy created wonderful, emotional, and powerful pop music. Many of her popular songs are collected here, and this one CD may be sufficient for a casual listener. Ardent fans will probably find this collection a little weak and will either want far more than this collection, or may seek the albums from which these songs came rather than this collection.

I have found this to be the third best collection available. There are two others that rank higher because one includes songs from her movies "Pete's Dragon", "Airport 75", and the love theme from "Continental Divide" and the other includes 3 hits from her I AM WOMAN album (This Masquerade, Where is the Love, and And I Loved You So). However, for the "Top Tens & more" you'll be very happy with this selection!

I have found this to be the third best collection available. There are two others that rank higher because one includes songs from her movies "Pete's Dragon", "Airport 75", and the love theme from "Continental Divide" and the other includes 3 hits from her I AM WOMAN album (This Masquerade, Where is the Love, and And I Loved You So). However, for the "Top Tens & more" you'll be very happy with this selection!

I have found this to be the third best collection available. There are two others that rank higher because one includes songs from her movies "Pete's Dragon", "Airport 75", and the love theme from "Continental Divide" and the other includes 3 hits from her I AM WOMAN album (This Masquerade, Where is the Love, and And I Loved You So). However, for the "Top Tens & more" you'll be very happy with this selection!

My wife had this CD in her car and I decided to listen to it to one day when I had to borrow her car to get to work. I wasn't a big Helen Reddy Fan, but she was very popular in the mid-70s. Her "I Am Woman" was a huge hit during my senior year in high school, but my favorite song of hers is "Peaceful", written by Kenny Rankin, which was the followup to "I Am Woman" and came out in the spring of 1973. "Peaceful" always reminds me of the last few months of my senior year in high school and the special memories and people of that time (San Gorgonio High School, San Bernardino, CA.--GO SPARTANS!!) "Peaceful" wasn't a huge hit and I never hear it on radio anymore, so it was a pleasant surprise to listen to it and many of the other songs for the first time in many years.

Helen didn't write too many of her own songs (though she did co-write "I am Woman")but she did a great job of selecting good songs and interpreting them very well. Wonder what she's doing now?