Customer Reviews

Rarities From the Capitol Vaults

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a great surprise this cd release is. Alternate takes on songs you Helen Reddy die hards already know (I Am Woman, Blue, Don't (You) Mess With A Woman and Songs), mixed with brand new songs, which makes this cd worth owning. Me And My Love and Lullaby are great. Each song is very different, one is upbeat and the other a ballad. If you're familiar with the Carole King co-written No Sad Songs, here it is sung in French, called Plus De Chansons Tristes, and it's a highlight of the cd in my opinion. Rhythm Rhapsody is here too and if you have ever gone to any of Helen's shows, you'll remember this as her opening number. This is a slightly different take on the live version. If you are a long time Helen Reddy fan, I don't think you will be disappointed in this collection. As a long time HR fan, I am very happy to have this cd, especially since Helen no longer sings or makes new music.

Capitol Records was the recording home for Helen Reddy for most of her years as a recording artist. It was at Capitol that Reddy recorded all of her legendary hits such as "I Am Woman", "Delta Dawn" and "Angie Baby".
Helen Reddy quit recording in the nineties and at that time the world lost one of its greatest vocalists and that is why it is so spectacular that Capitol has now released a entire CD of lost tracks from Reddy's career. These songs are far from filler tracks and sound as fresh as the day they were recorded.
"Me And My Love" is so good it should have been a single, "Blue" is a irresistable sing along and "Tell Jack" is sassy and fun.
What a great gift from Capitol and Helen Reddy.

This release is an eclectic mix of songs - some demos, a couple of dance remixes, and songs that didn't make it onto the albums for which they were originally recorded. The absolute gem of the collection is "Lullaby" - written by Helen Reddy and Carol Bayer Sager. If the CD had contained only this one song it would still have been worth the price.

Hopefully, Helen Reddy is now being given the credit she justifiably deserves. She was an extremely talented vocalist who had a huge career in the 1970's. It's too bad she stopped recording and doesn't make public appearances anymore. I wish that her other Capitol records, eg. Ear Candy would be released on Cd. In the meantime, this one will suffice. Way to go!

Don't hesitate to buy this HELEN REDDY CD! How lucky that Capitol opened up it's vaults of unreleased songs for Collector's Choice to release this true gift to the fans. These are finished, completed tracks, intended for albums, but left off of them. It's also a surprise at how these songs rock. Most of the songs are uptempo , with any one of them expanding Helen's style of genres , and enhancing her catalog. The unreleased versions of I AM WOMAN and DON'T MESS WITH A WOMAN are completely different versions, not just alternate takes. NO SAD SONG , a Top 100 single from 1971 , but never making a greatest hits collection ever, is sung in French here, a true rarity. This CD is hearing a brand new Helen Reddy album from her 70's peak . All of the songs are of the highest quality. It's a tremendous addition to have in her catalog, definitely buy it before it's out of print at sky high prices.

What a treat this collection is for Helen Reddy fans. Often releases of rarities and previously unreleased tracks were just that fore a reason but here we get some major treats that equal some of Ms. Reddy's bes performances from her career. Helen Reddy was always underrated as a singer. Part of this was because she was a top ten winner and had a huge run with success with her singles releases. Her albums were always well performed but sometimes lacked the true cohesiveness to rise above and make her known to a larger audience.

On this cd we see whey we have always loved Helen Reddy and why it is such a shame no new music is being released. There are many alternate takes here on songs we know and love but it is the new, never released tracks that make this set a must have. The cd opens with an alternate take of I AM WOMAN. It is lots of fun and very interesting to hear. It is done in a different tempo than the famed version she is known for. It is more playful and lacks the same direct, intense powerful delivery. It becomes a fun pop song and is a great opening. The other alternate versions are of DON'T MESS WITH A WOMAN, a very fast uptempo take on SONGS and a very different version of BLUE with children singing the background track in the same way they did on the Carpenters song SING.

These songs are all great fun but the true treats are the originals never before released. ME AND MY LOVE is an amazing pop rock track with a great vocal performance from Helen. The song has a dramatic intro and then soars. This song could easily have been one of her biggest hits had it been released. TOGETHER is a lovely, breezy ballad reminiscent of the ballads on the REDDY album. TELL JACK is another uptempo pop rock track and shows a different side of Helen. These songs are all so great I just don't understand why they never made it onto an album. LULLABY is an intense ballad of a more dramatic level than Helen usually sang. She was always known for her interpretive skills on ballads but here she is more dramatic utilizing more of a range both vocally and emotionally than ever before. The final is EXHAUSTION a very campy, inventive pop song where Helen has great fun with a track that jumps all over the place vocally. This one is my favorite. She had fun with THE LAST BLUES SONG which was also campy but that is nothing compared to the skill in this song.

There is not a miss here. My only complaint is that there was not more material. It left me hungry for more. If you are a Helen Reddy fan as I am then you want all that she has recorded. I am a true completist and believe me when I say this cd is a must have. It is in no way a set of filler material. You will get some of the best vocal performances Helen has ever done as well as a strong reminder as to why her music is so beloved by her fans.

Helen Reddy enjoyed five straight years on the best-seller charts with her Capitol singles and albums. She would have gone even longer but, as happens in the music business, the people at her label turned their attentions to new artists. Capitol made a profit on every Reddy release (gratitude seldom exists in the record business--Capitol had no qualms about ditching June Christy and Peggy Lee for example). Reddy was famous for having a talent in finding and recording the best songs; her albums never had filler. Every track could have been a single and all the albums include buried hits (most notably "West Wind Circus"). There's much interesting here and, true to Reddy, no filler. Enjoy!

A great collection of never- before- released hidden gems! I have all but four of Helen Reddy's original albums on CD. I hope the four that aren't available on CD are released soon!

For those of us that a die hard Helen fans, you will like a few of the recordings found on the CD. For those that are not hardcore Helen fans you may want to pass this one up and stick to the standards already released. The variations on songs we already know so well and love really does not do them justus. The previously not released songs would not have been missed, they just don't make the grade. I consider myself a BIG Helen Fan so I don't take this lightly. Always willing to add more to my collection, so I am very glad to have added this new release.

Be well,

Geoerge