Just Plain Country / Tears & Heartaches Old Records [Import]

Kay Starr | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 13, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Gold Imports
• ASIN: B000DNVJPE
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,594 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Pins and Needles

2. Crazy

3. Four Walls

4. My Last Date (With You)

5. Blues Stay Away from Me

6. Walk on By

7. Oh, Lonesome Me

8. I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)

9. I Really Don't Want to Know

10. Singing the Blues

11. Don't Worry

12. Tears and Heartaches

13. Talk, Talk, Talk

14. I Waited a Little Too Long

15. Never Dreamed I Could Love Someone New

16. Make the World Go Away

17. Flowers on the Wall

18. Old Records

19. I Don't Care (Just as Long as You Love Me)

20. I Know That You Know That We Know That They Know

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Starr Country!, April 14, 2008

By 

Pawpaw Bruce (Asheville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just Plain Country / Tears & Heartaches Old Records (Audio CD)

Kay Starr belts out 22 country favorites on this CD which combines two albums from way back when. The arrangements are outstanding. The very best is Kay's rendition of the Hank Williams classic "I Can't Help It". Her version of Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is great, too.
There's something especially catchy about the Starr treatment of the Leroy Van Dyke hit "Walk On By". While most of the songs are ones you'd expect to find in a collection like this, Kay starts the disc with a pleasant surprise for those of us who have been country fans for longer than many people have been alive, the Roy Acuff favorite "Pins And Needles (In My Heart)" written by his publishing partner Fred Rose under the pen name Floyd Jenkins. There has always been something country about Kay's style and the folks at Capitol made a good choice when they turned her loose on this collection.

5.0 out of 5 stars Kay returns to her roots, June 1, 2009

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just Plain Country / Tears & Heartaches Old Records (Audio CD)

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Kay would have had plenty of exposure to country music. However, there were few opportunities for female singers in country music when Kay was young so, like the Dinning Sisters and Patti Page (also from Oklahoma), Kay established her singing career in other musical styles - in Kay's case, jazz and mainstream pop. That might have been her first choice anyway for all I know, but a look at Kay's recorded output shows that she loved those country songs, never more obviously than on this twofer. Here are two albums filled with country songs but recorded in an easy-listening style with orchestral backing. Some country fans may cringe at such records but the recordings here sound closer to traditional country than a lot of contemporary country, which reflects how far country music has changed since the sixties.

The first album, Just plain country, contains songs that will be very familiar to fans of old country music. At this distance in time, the most famous songs are probably Crazy and Singing the blues. Crazy is the old Patsy Cline classic, written and first recorded by Willie Nelson. Marty Robbins recorded Singing the blues first, taking it into the top twenty of the American pop charts. Subsequently, Guy Mitchell had a number one pop hit with it in Britain and America, while Tommy Steele also had a British number one hit with it. Pins and needles (Roy Acuff), Four walls (Jim Reeves), My last date with you (Skeeter Davis), Blues stay away from me (Delmore brothers), Walk on by (Leroy Van Dyke), Oh lonesome me (Don Gibson), I can't help it if I'm still in love with you (Hank Williams), I really don't want to know (Eddy Arnold) and Don't worry (Marty Robbins) were are very famous in their day, and I find Kay's covers of them most enjoyable.

The second album, Tears and heartaches / Old records, contains some less familiar material, which in some ways makes it more interesting. The most famous here are I'm so lonesome I could cry (Hank Williams), Make the world go away (Eddy Arnold), I don't care just as long as you love me (Buck Owens) and Flowers on the wall (Statler brothers). The two title tracks and the other remaining tracks are all of a high quality but certainly not as famous as the tracks I've listed.

As somebody who likes many types of music and who loves to see great songs covered, whether in a similar or different style to the original as long as the quality is high, I love this twofer. Whether you like it or not will depend on your attitude to country songs recorded in an easy-listening pop style, but there can be no denying that Kay Starr was among the finest female singers of her generation and was in top form when recording these albums. Fans who prefer to hear Kay singing jazz or mainstream pop may choose to pick up some of her other music instead.

5.0 out of 5 stars THE COUNTRY SIDE OF KAY STARR, March 10, 2006

By 

Giovanni Marra (Lockport, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just Plain Country / Tears & Heartaches Old Records (Audio CD)

Kay Starr remains one of the most underrated female vocalists of her era, but this collection should bolster her stock once again (as do the other two such collections of two albums on one disc from EMI). Blessed with a warm, rich voice suited for any type of music, Kay foraged into the gold of Nashville for these two albums and the results are fantastic. The pathos in her voice on the ballads is, at its best, a tip of the hat to the true C&W vocalists such as Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn. The weepy FOUR WALLS is one such example. Kay's vocals soar over the sad tale with ease. A cover of the aforementioned Ms. Cline's CRAZY (an early writing from country music's best pal, Willie Nelson) is a nice substitute for the real thing without stealing or 'borrowing' from the original.
Still another standout is this disc's opener, PINS AND NEEDLES (In My Heart). This one's an urgent cry to anyone who's ever been in love and lost. Heartbreakingly gorgeous, complete with orchestra and chorus (as most of the tunes are) to abet Ms. Starr's poignant vocal. Kay also stamps another hit of the time, MY LAST DATE (WITH YOU) with her own style. The hit version was an instrumental by Floyd Cramer, and should be recognizable at once. WALK ON BY is a sly cover and Kay has fun with this number. Speaking of fun, how about her spin on FLOWERS ON THE WALL? The staples are all around here, with I CAN'T HELP IT, SINGING THE BLUES, and I'M SO LONESOME I COULD CRY, and again, Kay's own warm style is conveyed throughout. But other lesser know country gems, such as OLD RECORDS, TEARS AND HEARTACHES and the scorching country torch ballad I WAITED A LITTLE TOO LONG get the royal treatment here. (It's unknown the arranger/conductor of the 2nd part of the program here, but the arrangements are all top notch) But don't think it's all just those lonesome country wailers here, Kay swings her way through I DON'T CARE (Just As Long As You Love Me) and duets with herself on the choruses of the gentle swinging OH LONESOME ME. There is an even mix of uptempo songs and slow ballads. A very enjoyable new release from EMI in their usual wonderful fashion.