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Early Dottie Tracks Make This of Interest for Fans

"Tee" | LA | 04/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These the first recordings Dottie West cut from 1959 to 1962 a few years before she became a charting artist. "Angel on Paper" was her first single release and she covers some of the major female country hits of the day, Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces" and "Crazy", Kitty Wells' "Heartbreak USA", and Skeeter Davis' "The Hand You're Holding Now". These tracks were later packaged as a vinyl album at least three times 1965-1982 and now have made it to CD. Dottie's voice seems a bit timid at times and she seems to be more interested in singing smoothly rather than from her heart, a couple of tracks scarcely sound like her and some of the songs are not so great. But there is some very nice stuff here, notably her wistful "I Should Start Running" and the spirited "Men With Evil Hearts". These tracks can't compare to her great hits but it's nice to have them still around so we can listen to this great artist in her earliest stages."