Search - Patsy Cline & Jeannie C. Riley :: Patsy Cline and Jeannie C. Riley - The Masters

Rare Patsy plus ALL of Jeannie C Riley's best songs! Cheap

08/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, if all you remember about Jeannie C Riley is her hit "Harper Valley PTA", you are in for a very pleasant surprise if you choose to snap up this bargain priced double-CD. I loved Jeannie when I was a kid in the 70's because she sounded much more authentic than Lynn Anderson and Tammy Wynette who had gone very much into the "Nashville Sound" and for cutsy duets or "hook" songs with a gimmick. No Jeannie reflected a much purer "roots" music kind of feel with a nod to both Bluegrass and the mountain twang of say, Hazel Dickens (most known by pop audiences as the singer who's voice graces John Sayles' starkly poetic soundtrack to his film about West Virginia Coal Miners..MATEWAN). Jeannie's voice is a little more nasal and a tad more twangy but full of girlish verve and energy. I have sought for years to find a CD that contained not only her hits but many of the gems from her sophmore album..The Girl Most Likely. MY fave song of hers on this CD is a ballad called "Oh Singer" whith it's Gospel kind of feel. Trust me.. this CD contains Jeannie's best "mainstream" Country performences evn though nobody could ever call her mainstream today. She would certainly apeal to all of you who have the soundtrack to "Oh, Brother Where Art Thou. Now, the first CD in this set is also a gem. It contains a host of less common Patsy tunes that you are not likely to find collected elsewhere. No, they are not as Pop-oriented as her best known hits but her deeply chocolately voice melts over all the melodies as it always does and you might find yourself more drawn to these numbers precisely because they are rare. This 2 CD set is most valuable for it's collection of Jeannie C Riley's best numbers from the 70's, a gal who turned to Gospel when her Top 10 status slid and who has never really turned back. If you like Roots music, Jeannie will apeal to you as a far more honest performer than her Nashville cohorts. The Patsy tunes are freebie. Buy it. You won't be sorry"