Customer Reviews

Ultimate Collection: Barbara Mandrell

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Barbara Mandrell is something of an enigma. She's known primarily as a great vocalist yet showed amazing instrumental prowess in her live shows. She unabashedly proclaims that she "was country when country wasn't cool", but had no trouble pulling off convincing covers of R&B powerhouses like Shirley Brown's "Woman To Woman" or Luther Ingram's "I Don't Wanna Be Right". She never holds back in the least when discussing her personal religious convictions but often performed songs about marital infidelity. She counts Dolly Parton, Brenda Lee, Tammy Wynette, Minnie Pearl and Aretha Franklin among her biggest influences but walked away from her music career, in part because she felt that a woman should get off the stage once she reaches her 40s. But while she's always been hard to define or categorize, her musical legacy speaks volumes on her behalf. This very comprehensive collection of Mandrell's biggest hit singles of the 70s and 80s has been a long time coming and does a good job of hitting the highlights of her recording career. She had too many hits to include them all, of course, and after looking over the impressive list of tracks that are included, the titles that are not included start coming to mind ("Midnight Angel", "He Set My Life To Music", "Crossword Puzzle", "Wish You Were Here", "Operator Long Distance Please"). This is really a great single disc retrospective but it kind of makes me sad that the 2 disc collection that the Razor & Tie label had planned several years back never saw the light of day. This disc does include my two very favorite performances though: "Only A Lonely Heart Knows" and "Happy Birthday Dear Heartache". Any fan of Mandrell will find a lot to love on this compilation.

With this new collection of hits from Barbara Mandrell you get all the hits you remember. Starting off with her first top ten single "Tonight My Baby's Coming Home" from 1971 up thru her last top five single "I Wish That I Could Fall In Love Today" from 1988. In between are all the other hits from her stays on Columbia, ABC/Dot, MCA and Capital. This collection is a single disc version of the Razor & Tie collection "Greatest Hits" from 1997, which was only available thru mail order. This is a great disc if you want her hits. However, now that Barbara has said she won't record anymore, it would be nice to see a boxed set covering her entire career from her "Queen For A Day" single on Mosrite up thru "Ten Pound Hammer" from her under rated final album, "It Works For Me". Maybe someday someone will re-issue her albums on CD. So until that happens or we get a boxed set this is nice collection to have on your shelf.

Barbara is my favorite pop-country singer - I don't count Dolly as a pop-country singer, as most of her recordings are traditional - and this compilation of some of her music shows why.

Twenty of the songs here were recorded during her long spell with MCA, but the set begins with two of her early tracks recorded for Columbia and ends with I wish that I could fall in love today, the biggest hit that she had after she left MCA.

Barbara tackled every type of song, or so it seemed, but she had a soft spot for R+B classics. Her biggest hit came via a cover of an R+B song (If loving you is wrong) and it suits her well. On this collection, my favorites are Married but not to each other, Standing room only, Years, Woman to woman and Sleeping single in a double bed, but every song here is a masterpiece. Barbara is equally good with up-tempo rocking songs (Crackers, In times like these, Fast lanes and country roads) as ballads, many of which are on the sad side. The saddest song of all is The best of strangers, about a marriage gone wrong although the couple are still living together. However, the last ballad here, No one mends a broken heart like you, is much more optimistic.

This is a brilliant collection of Barbara's music.

When Hip-O Records releases an "Ultimate Collection", they do it up right...this 23 set of tunes covers the rousing career of Barbara Mandrell, who in my book was one of the best entertainers around during the '70s and '80s with albums I collected ~ "Midnight Oil"..."Lovers, Friends & Strangers"..."He Set My Life To Music"...and my list could go on...being a big fan, was a push-over for this CD...If you like these songs ~ "THE MIDNIGHT OIL", "WOMAN TO WOMAN" "YEARS" and "I WAS COUNTRY WHEN COUNTRY WASN'T COOL"(duet with George Jones)...this is for you...don't pass this one up!

Total Time: 71:29 on 23 Tracks ~ Hip-O Records 314-556-524-2 ~ (2001)

"The Ultimate Collection" from one of the ultimate entertainers of all time! This collection brings together Barbara Mandrell's best material spanning her entire career. It is the most complete collection of her material available beginnig with hits from her early days with Columbia Records including the ground-breaking 1973 classic, THE MIDNIGHT OIL right up to her last Top 5 hit to date, I WISH THAT I COULD FALL IN LOVE TODAY from 1988. In between you get every #1 hit like SLEEPING SINGLE IN A DOUBLE BED, YEARS, ONE OF A KIND-PAIR OF FOOLS and her signature song, I WAS COUNTRY WHEN COUNTRY WASN'T COOL. Barbara Mandrell isn't limited to just country music. She sings many different styles of music which you'll hear on this collection. Beginning with country (STANDING ROOM ONLY) she can move to pop (FOOLED BY A FEELING) to sultry R&B (WOMAN TO WOMAN) In fact, Barbara has been dubbed the Queen of Blue-Eyed soul. You'll understand once you hear her sexy renditions of IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG I DON'T WANT TO BE RIGHT and ANGEL IN YOUR ARMS. Barbara Mandrell is a true living legend. A consumate performer she often left those who saw her perform live speechless with lavish production numbers and her ability to play just about every instrument on the stage! She is one of the artists who the current crop of younger stars like Faith Hill and Shania Twain model themselves after. Sadly, she retired from performing in 1997 and music suffered a great loss. There will never be anyone else like Barbara Mandrell. If you're a Barbara Mandrell fan you must own this collection. But, if you just like good music you'll want this CD. Barbara's music crossed boundries and isn't limited to "just country." She's won more People Choice awards for Favorite Female Performer than anyone else. Universal / Hip-O Records have done a great job in putting together the "Ultimate Collection."

Where to start.. where to start.. Barbara Mandrell is one of the best and most beautifuly loved female country musicians of all time. Her untimely unforgettable raspy voice brings back the memories we all once shared in the 70's and 80's. What were you doing when these songs came out? I remember watching The Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters show on TV. hearing her talented voice in each song on the radio. And this collection certainly brings back those memories of each song. Whether you were "SLEEPING SINGLE IN A DOUBLE BED", "BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL", having an "ANGEL IN YOUR ARMS", or "LIVING IN TIMES LIKE THESE", this collection is right for you. I say go buy the cd.. It's the best Barbara Mandrell has out there, where else can you find a collection with as many of her songs on one cd? Buy the cd you won't be disapointed!

Barbara Mandrell was truly one of the greatest entertainers in music, and in my opinion, one of the greatest legends of country music. This album is more than a "best of" or "greatest hits," but truly the best "ultimate collection" of her hits. Barbara has since retired from music, and this album only makes my heart ache to hear more from the voice I miss hearing. But this album is a great tribute and memorial to one of the most underrated voices and talents in music. This album offers a collection of Barbara's greatest songs, and reminds her fans of the plethora of great tunes she belted out in her twenty some years as a performer. Barbara will truly be missed, but thank God we can remember her talent with such a phenomenal collection.

I was a child in the '70s, so I was familiar with Barbara Mandrell's music from the radio and her television show, but it was not until I purchased this CD a few months ago that I realized what an incredibly talented woman she is! Not only does she possess a strong, soulful, versatile voice, she also plays a variety of musical instruments, including the steel guitar! (That kind of thing was a rarity in the 1970s.)

Barbara's biggest hits are here. In fact, every song included in this collection was a Top Ten hit! And while the material is not always as wonderful as Barbara is ("There's No Love In Tennessee," "In Times Like These"), there are still plenty of wonderful songs to make fans of country (and country-pop) music very happy.

Standout tracks include "The Midnight Oil," "If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Right" and "I Wish That I Could Fall In Love Today."

I STRONGLY recommend this collection. It is simply delightful!

This is a one of a kind cd it is so amazing to here these songs again by Barbarba Mandrell I would highly recommend this cd in my heart this cd should get 100 stars

Excellent collection of Barbara's greatest songs. What wonderful memories this cd brought back.