Customer Reviews

Just a Country Girl

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Long-standing fans will know that country songs were the mainstay of Mary's early albums, but that she later included a lot more pop songs in her repertoire. Now Mary has returned to her roots by recording this album of country classics.

The songs, especially the first half of the album, are familiar to all British and Irish fans of traditional country music, beginning with Take me home country roads, the John Denver song that Olivia Newton John had a British top twenty hit with.

There are also covers of songs originally made famous by Loretta Lynn (Coal miner's daughter), Crystal Gayle (Talking in your sleep), Lynn Anderson (Rose garden), Billie Jo Spears (57 Chevrolet), Patsy Cline (Walking after midnight), Emmylou Harris (To Daddy - written by Dolly Parton), Kitty Wells (Making believe - also covered by Emmylou) and Tammy Wynette (Stand by your man) among them.

It may at first seem that Where the boys are (Connie Francis) is out of place, but Connie recorded plenty of country songs and this song sits comfortably alongside all the other songs here.

Making plans, a new duet with Daniel O'Donnell, was originally written and recorded by Johnny Russell and has been recorded by many country singers down the years. It is likely that Mary was inspired by one of Dolly's covers of the song. Dolly recorded a duet version with Porter Wagoner but later re-recorded it with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou for one of their Trio albums.

I like all Mary's music but I'm glad that she has returned to her roots. This may not be the most imaginative set of songs - so many have been covered countless times - but these are the songs that Mary was raised on and she clearly still loves them.

If you like old country music you will want this CD in your collection. Mary Duff can perform almost any style of music with amazing accuracy, with respect to sounding so close to the original artist. The following 4 samples from her country album will emphasize what I am referring to. "Walking After Midnight"(Patsy Cline), "Rose Garden" - (Lynn Anderson), "Coal Miner's Daughter - (Loretta Lynn), "Making Believe" - (Kitty Wells). Her clear powerful vocals certainly do justice to this excellent collection. Since it is an import CD and being a single it is quite pricey. If you like old country music or if you like Mary Duff's music you will not be disappointed with this collection. I highly recommend it.

An outstanding voice.
Very good, the very best in country singing.

I'm a great fan of Mary Duff's, if you haven't discovered her singing, this is a collecion of some of her country songs, as well as some from the 50's. She excells on Rose Garden (a standard in her concerts), and IMHO she outsings Tammy on "Stand by Your Man"...I was amazed the first time I heard her sing that one! She proves her versatility with "Where the Boys Are" and "57 Chevrolet" and I particularly like her version of "Take Me Home Country Roads". Her voice is pure and fresh, like the country girl she is....from the Co. Meath in Ireland. She is true to her country roots and sings from her heart on every selection. If you ever get a chance to see her in concert, it's a priceless experience. She shines!! And she is gracious and warm, staying to meet and greet her fans after the concert. A true lady, whether she singing country, pop, or oldies. I highly recommend getting The Ultimate Collection and When Your Old Wedding Ring Was New, as well as The Best of. This Irish girl excells at any song she tackles!! I don't think you'll be disappointed. Just check the titles on the CDs, some are duplicated on other CDs. For instance, if you get When Your Old Wedding Ring was New, it has most of the songs on Time After Time. She's also featured on many of Daniel O'Donnell's CDs, and he's a great Irish singer as well.

14 songs - 14 5 star rated. Truely a fine CD. Sung as only Mary Duff can.

Mary Duff does a wonderful job on all the titles in this album- if you did not know she was from Ireland, you would think she was from the South here in the good old USA- If you like County music, this is well worth buying.