Customer Reviews

Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The description of Cline that comes to mind for me every time one of her songs is played or even just her name comes up, was this one by David McGee in the 1992 Rolling Stone album guide: "Kitty Wells had retreated to less controversial ground after her 1952 hit, `It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels' had found a sizable audience for its distaff point of view; Cline, on the other hand remained a bulwark of feminine fortitude to the end of her life."

And this strength is apparent in every song the woman sings, no matter how much heartbreak the lyrics include. Patsy would probably reject the word `feminist' and all the negative connotations its picked up over the years, but if we limited its meaning to that of unshakable confidence and self-awareness it would certainly encompass Patsy. Her every performance suggests a woman keenly aware of the scope of her talent, and she applied like the unerring pro she was.

Songs like "She's Got You," "I Fall To Pieces" and especially "Crazy" were substantially crossing over to the pop charts and pulling in even young rock and roll fans like I already was by that time. Had she lived, Patsy would surely have continued this accomplishment to even greater heights. Her first No. 1 pop hit was only one or two records away, no doubt. But once I heard her, even this 50-year-old R&B fan knew the Real Deal when I came upon it, and Patsy Cline is IT.

This hard living, hard loving, country diva had one of the most emotive voices in the history of country music. In her too short career, cut prematurely in a plane crash, she managed to put together a notable roster of musical hits and was a crossover sensation.

This is an absolutely definitive CD. There is simply not one bad cut on it, with stand outs such as: "Crazy", "She's Got You", "Back in Baby's Arms", "Why Can't He Be You", and "Leaving on Your Mind". Ten of the cuts on this CD were top ten tunes on the pop charts of the time, while seven of them made the top ten on the country charts. Fans of Ms. Cline's, as well as those music lovers just wanting a great CD, would be well satisfied with it, more so now that it has been re-mastered and available at a give away price.

I was born in 1931 and I lived through all the changes of the music from HILLBILLY to COUNTRY-SWING to COUNTRY WESTERN and then just plain COUNTRY.

Every Saturday night I would pull my chair up to the radion and start to carefully turn the dial until I found the WSM GRAND OLY OPRY - then I had to keep turning it to keep the station coming in to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I have been a dyed-in-the-wool Hillbilly/western swing/country western/ and now just plain country music fan almost since it began.

I LOVE PATSY CLINE and cried when she died in the plane crash with two of her traveling companions. She had the most beautiful voice. She was/and still is the best.

Dorothy W. Rossa
Chicago, Illinois

I'm not a country music fan but if all country sounded like this then there wouldn't be so many jokes about it. Cline's voice is amazing and the range of emotion she conveys in her simple, poignant intonations overpower a million "I love you's" from the pop songs of today. She is clear, elegant, and haunting. I can't say enough about her. It's too bad that she didn't live longer; just think of what she could have accomplished. My personal favorite is "I Fall to Pieces" but there isn't a bad song to be found on the record.

This Patsy Cline primer was first released in 1967, and its first CD incarnation in 1988 was acceptable but Patsy's voice (we'll get to that in a minute) sounded muted and lost. What a nice surprise (even though I shelled out money for the 1988 CD) it is to hear a much improved mix that brings Patsy to the front.

This CD is a must for casual listeners of her country-soul sound as it showcases a musical powerhouse that knocks you off your feet with its subtle intensity and melody. She does not resort to the histrionics of other artists and she knew that sometimes you can express much more by being less showy.

This collection includes a dozen simply brilliant songs from Cline's catalog. The biggest and best-known hits are here, such as: "Walkin' After Midnight," "Crazy," "Sweet Dreams," "He's Got You", and some that you may not have heard before ("You're Stronger Than Me", "She's got you," and "Why Can't He Be You)."

Patsy in an amazing artist who was a pioneer by setting a well-deserved place on the table for female country artists. In short, if you're a casual listener looking for a good single-disc Patsy Cline collection, for more hard-core fans there is the amazing 4 set box set titled "The Patsy Cline Collection", which gathers it all.

Some professional reviewers have been a little harsh about this CD in that its cover is exactly the same as when it was first released and it has the original notes. I actually love that. You'll also find an updated perspective of how her work has been perceived since this collection was initially released. A no-brainer 5 stars if there ever was one.

For the first time on CD is the original Patsy Cline Greatest Hits album...wonderfully remastered and with the orginal artwork from 1967!

This CD includes the second version of "Walkin' After Midnight" with the Jordanaires, rather than the guitar-based hit version from the "12 Greatest Hits" CD release. Plus 11 other great tracks, such as "So Wrong," "Crazy," "Strange" and "She's Got You."

You can't go wrong! This is the definitive collection from the greatest voice of the last 50 years. Pick it up now! You will be so happy that you did.

Patsy Cline projects a vulnerablitiy and tenderness that is so irresistible when she sings a ballad. Patsy did not merely sing the words; she lived her songs as if each one had been written from personal experience, and she communicates that intimacy to her fans. Her tremulous, emotional voice could (and often does) move a person to tears; it seems to touch one's very soul. To listen to Patsy Cline sing is to experience the divine. I highly recommend this album.

If there is one musical genere I dislike, its Country. Give me some Bluegrass, yet Country music just doesnt reach me. But then there is Patsy Cline, whos voice alone is absolutly breath-taking. Even though these tracks were mostly recorded in the 1960s, I still think that she is one of the best Country singers of all time. Some of the material is a bit dated, as evidence with a little doo-wop thrown in, yet these are a great collection of songs. I encourage people to see to put down thier Britney Spears, Christine Agularia, and Jo-LO CD's, and try on some Patsy Cline for a real amazing voice. No, this isnt going to want to make you groove, but its a voice that has to be heard. This one is a true classic in any music genere.

I guess maybe it was the simpler times, the country living
but whatever it was Patsy Cline recorded some of the most
intense vocal arrangements accompanied with equal intensity by
Owen Bradley & band and his legendary sophisticated sound with the Jordanaires. Their
silky smooth harmonies riding along side that haunting, bluesy
edged voice just chills the air, nothing has ever matched this
combination, it worked with so little frill, Patsy just went
in and cut the track and that was that. Professional till the
end. I bought the box set when it came out years ago on cd
and I couldn't believe my ears how many quality songs she
had tackled, some really bluesy numbers, a superior sound on
the 4 cd box set as well, the #1 female country
artist thats ever recorded. After watching the female country
countdown of the greatest singers on TV the other evening, I wasn't surprised Patsy
Cline was voted #1.

I've been listening to this album for most of my life. It's just part of who I am. Lately I had economized by transferring my CDs to CDR or my digital devices. Unfortunately two albums, including this, became swamped in distortion and therefore unlistenable.

Finding a new remastered version is great, and all the old feelings came flooding back after this arrived.

I am a crusty old bugger with no faith in humanity or deity, and everything I see or read further confirms my belief in the downward spiral of history. They don't make 'em like they used to, and that's a shame. This album can make me cry. It's utterly, purely perfect.

If there is a heaven, Patsy will will be singing these tunes there. I just hope I get a chance to hear it in person.