Search - Barbara Dickson :: Best of

Not quite best of but still excellent

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 08/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With a live version of Answer me (the original studio version having been recorded for a different record label), and the absence of two other UK hits, I know him so well (her number one hit duet with Elaine Paige) and Another suitcase in another hall (from Evita), this is not quite the best of Barbara Dickson but it is still full of high quality music.



Barbara began as a folk singer but established her reputation as a singer of easy listening pop music. Her popularity is not obvious from a reading of the UK singles charts - she only had six hits, most of them minor - but her albums always sold well.



Three of her UK hits are included here in their original form, these being January February, Caravan song and In the night. Also included is Tell me it's not true (from Blood Brothers, a West End musical that Barbara starred in).



Barbara sometimes wrote her own material but she was also a fine interpreter of other people's songs. This collection includes her covers of Long and winding road (Beatles), Stardust (the Hoagy Carmichael classic from the thirties), Crying game (Dave Berry), With a little help from my friends (Beatles, though best remembered via Joe Cocker's version), Will you love me tomorrow (Shirelles), As time goes by (another thirties classic) and Stop in the name of love (Diana Ross and the Supremes).



Among the other songs here, I particularly like I believe in you (written by Barbara, not to be confused with several other different songs sharing this title), Run like the wind and It's really you.



While this is not the definitive collection of Barbara's music, everything here is of a very high quality."