24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good overview of Patsy's music, July 22, 2005
This review is from: Patsy Cline Collection (Audio CD)
If the urban (rural?) legends are correct, Patsy was singing for neighborhood amusement as early as age 3. For an idea of how much her stature looms, consider: The CMT cable channel placed 4 of her songs on its "100 Greatest Songs in Country Music" countdown and she was the ONLY artist to place 2 in the top 10 ("Crazy" and "I Fall to Pieces"). She holds the record for most weeks on the U.S. charts for an album by a female artist (over 8 years, 251 of those weeks at #1, for "Greatest Hits". It sold over 6 million copies.). She has a 1995 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She's in the Country Music Hall of Fame, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Grammy Hall of Fame, and has her own postage stamp and a movie about her life. Radio and Records Magazine named her country radio's "Greatest Female Artist of the 20th Century". This box set attempts to properly examine her legacy. (It must have done pretty well: it's sold over 1.5 million copies!)
PROS:
8 of her 9 country top 10 hits are here, her 3 top 20's, and every other Top 100 country hit from while she was still alive. In addition, you get 3 pop hits that didn't chart country: "Heartaches","Who Can I Count On?", and "Strange".
Of her 45 singles (not counting posthumous reissues), you get 39 of the A and B sides and the discs are filled fairly well: Disc 1 runs 68 minutes, disc 2 67 minutes, disc 3 73 minutes, and the final disc goes 59 minutes.
Rarities: 10 radio transcriptions in decent quality , 1 alternate take of "Stop, Look and Listen" cut 4/22/56 replaces the Decca B side version, an unreleased version of "I Don't Wanta" from 1956, and 4 live cuts (3 from a 1961 performance in East Point, GA and gospel number "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" from the Ryman Auditorium,unknown vintage previously released as a 1965 single on Kapp label).
The booklet is informative and not only references 3 Patsy bios and vintage articles in Billboard, Music Reporter, and The Washington Star newspaper, but author Paul Kingsbury took the time to get interviews with other figures important in Patsy's life. (Interviews with Ralph Emery, 2 nd husband Charlie Dick, Hank Locklin, Minny Pearl, Harlan and Jan Howard, and Hank Cochran among them). You also get a foldout reproduction of the Nashville Banner news article about her lethal plane crash.
CONS:
Here's the studio material you DON'T get: "Hidin' Out" (a 1955 Coral A-side), "I Cried all the Way to the Altar (recorded 1/5/56), "Dear God" (recorded 4/22/56),"He Will Do for You" (recorded 4/22/56), "Fingerprints" (recorded 4/24/57), "A Stranger in my Arms" (B side of Decca single for "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray"), "I Don't Wanta" (the Decca single, the box set has an earlier unreleased Coral recording), "Ain't No Wheels on this Ship" (recorded 5/23/57), "Stop the World" and "Walking Dream" (both sides of a 1958 Decca single), "Cry Not for Me" (B side of Decca 1959 single "Yes I Understand"), and a 1958 Decca single version of her concert-starter number "Come On In". Posthumously, two "duets" with Jim Reeves ("Have You Ever Been Lonely?",#5 country,1981,RCA label, and "I Fall to Pieces",#54 country,1982,MCA label). The 2nd of these at minimum should have made the cut since it wouldn't even have to be licensed. A similar duet with Bob Carlisle (of "Butterfly Kisses" fame) isn't here because it wasn't issued until after this set was compiled.
The last disc is quite a bit shorter than the first 3. It could have been used to put the Jim Reeves duet version of "Have You Ever Been Lonely?" on here, as well as perhaps a couple of the missing single A sides.
I feel taking some of the pieces out of the bio and utilizing them instead for a song-by-song commentary would make the set more "user friendly" when you just want tidbits about individual songs but this is a minor quibble.
BOTTOM LINE:
If you want a single purchase to examine the studio recordings made by Patsy, this is the closest to comprehensive you'll get. There's material from her time with Coral Records (Decca subsidiary), Kapp Records, and of course, Decca where she did the bulk of her work. Perhaps down the line they'll address the missing stuff, but for now buying "Four Star Recordings, Vol. I" (ASIN B0000252PZ) and "Four Star Recordings, Vol. II" (ASIN B00000INJV) will fill in nearly all the gaps.
4 1/2 stars
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just a country singer, and what a voice!!!, July 22, 2001
This review is from: Patsy Cline Collection (Audio CD)
I hadn't heard much of Patsy Cline's music before I bought this box set but what a revelation! Not only did she have a beautiful voice (I DID know that) but what really surprised me is the different styles of music she performed. Actually, to label her just a "country singer" is simply not accurate, as a few of the songs border on rock and roll. She could sing a ballad with achingly heartfelt emotion or belt out a rockabilly number with ease. To the nonchalant, a few songs could be considered soundalikes, but with Patsy singing them you won't care that much; like the hip cliche these days, she could sing the phone book and make it sound good!
Another reviewer mentioned that there was some "filler" on this box set. That depends on your point of view. The songs themselves are not filler material; for the most part they are first-rate. However, from the label's perspective, there may have been slightly different versions of previous songs that were added simply to pad the total amount of songs in the box set. But, I don't believe this is necessarily a bad thing, because, if it's a great song it's interesting to hear a different version of it. Again, Patsy's voice makes it all worthwhile.
I would give this collection 10 stars if it was possible! Five stars does not give it justice. Patsy Cline's voice was a gift that is appreciated even more today, as style, looks and dance beats are emphasized more than talent and ability. Patsy was taken from us WAY too soon, as this collection will attest to. If you are not already a Patsy Cline fan, buy this box set and soon you will be!
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Essential For Hardcore Fans, September 21, 2003
This review is from: Patsy Cline Collection (Audio CD)
Patsy Cline's presence looms so large in 20th Century American popular music that it is tempting to believe she was a great star during her lifetime. That, however, is not really true. Cline spent most of the 1950s playing honky tonks, doing the occasional radio or television appearance, and making records that usually didn't sell. It was not until 1960 that Cline began to reach a national audience--but even then Cline's hits were not as many or as big as you might think. Then as now, music fans tended toward very specific niches, and Cline didn't fit easily within any of them, a fact that often made her a very hard sell. Even the famous "Sweet Dreams" couldn't ride the notoriety of her untimely death in a 1963 airplane crash to the top spot on the country charts, much less the pop charts.
But for all of this, Cline had a devoted fan base--and more importantly a tremendous influence on the country and pop singers that came after her. Over time, that influence would grow to a legendary status, and by the close of the 20th century she would be considered one of the greatest vocalists of her era. She would also be one of the best-selling as well.
THE PATSY CLINE COLLECTION offers all of Cline's most famous recordings and then some. This box set, which comes with a very handsome booklet detailing Cline's life and career, consists of four CDs: "Honky Tonk Merry Go Around," which includes early examples of Cline's original juke-joint style; "Moving Along," which shows her transitioning into her classic style; and "Heartaches" and "Sweet Dreams," which presents her in full "cross-over" mode, blending numerous popular musical idioms into a seamless whole.
The quality of the recordings vary. Many are 1950s radio transcripts, with all the audio limitations such implies; the later recordings, of course, are state of the art c. 1960. But whether its the earliest cut (a radio transcript of "Walking the Dog") or the last (a live recording of "Just A Closer Walk with Thee"), every recording is distinctly Patsy Cline. There is absolutely no mistaking that incredible voice, and it transcends whatever limitations may be involved.
The collection offers well over four hours of Pasty Cline recordings, and quite frankly if your interest in Cline is limited to the high style of her late 1950s and early 1960s work you would really do better to purchase a less expensive compilation. There are many such releases that include only the essentials. But if you're a die-hard fan--and I'm certainly one of them!--this is a must-have set. It is a pricey purchase, to be sure, but once the investment is made you will never need purchase another. And I can honestly say that I don't regret a penny spent.
--GFT (Amazon Reviewer)--
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