Search - Patsy Cline :: Patsy Cline Collection

Very good overview of Patsy's music

Greg Brady | Capital City | 07/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If the urban (rural?) legends are correct, Patsy was singing for neighborhood amusement as early as age 3. For an idea of how much her stature looms, consider: The CMT cable channel placed 4 of her songs on its "100 Greatest Songs in Country Music" countdown and she was the ONLY artist to place 2 in the top 10 ("Crazy" and "I Fall to Pieces"). She holds the record for most weeks on the U.S. charts for an album by a female artist (over 8 years, 251 of those weeks at #1, for "Greatest Hits". It sold over 6 million copies.). She has a 1995 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She's in the Country Music Hall of Fame, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Grammy Hall of Fame, and has her own postage stamp and a movie about her life. Radio and Records Magazine named her country radio's "Greatest Female Artist of the 20th Century". This box set attempts to properly examine her legacy. (It must have done pretty well: it's sold over 1.5 million copies!)



PROS:

8 of her 9 country top 10 hits are here, her 3 top 20's, and every other Top 100 country hit from while she was still alive. In addition, you get 3 pop hits that didn't chart country: "Heartaches","Who Can I Count On?", and "Strange".



Of her 45 singles (not counting posthumous reissues), you get 39 of the A and B sides and the discs are filled fairly well: Disc 1 runs 68 minutes, disc 2 67 minutes, disc 3 73 minutes, and the final disc goes 59 minutes.



Rarities: 10 radio transcriptions in decent quality , 1 alternate take of "Stop, Look and Listen" cut 4/22/56 replaces the Decca B side version, an unreleased version of "I Don't Wanta" from 1956, and 4 live cuts (3 from a 1961 performance in East Point, GA and gospel number "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" from the Ryman Auditorium,unknown vintage previously released as a 1965 single on Kapp label).



The booklet is informative and not only references 3 Patsy bios and vintage articles in Billboard, Music Reporter, and The Washington Star newspaper, but author Paul Kingsbury took the time to get interviews with other figures important in Patsy's life. (Interviews with Ralph Emery, 2 nd husband Charlie Dick, Hank Locklin, Minny Pearl, Harlan and Jan Howard, and Hank Cochran among them). You also get a foldout reproduction of the Nashville Banner news article about her lethal plane crash.



CONS:

Here's the studio material you DON'T get: "Hidin' Out" (a 1955 Coral A-side), "I Cried all the Way to the Altar (recorded 1/5/56), "Dear God" (recorded 4/22/56),"He Will Do for You" (recorded 4/22/56), "Fingerprints" (recorded 4/24/57), "A Stranger in my Arms" (B side of Decca single for "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray"), "I Don't Wanta" (the Decca single, the box set has an earlier unreleased Coral recording), "Ain't No Wheels on this Ship" (recorded 5/23/57), "Stop the World" and "Walking Dream" (both sides of a 1958 Decca single), "Cry Not for Me" (B side of Decca 1959 single "Yes I Understand"), and a 1958 Decca single version of her concert-starter number "Come On In". Posthumously, two "duets" with Jim Reeves ("Have You Ever Been Lonely?",#5 country,1981,RCA label, and "I Fall to Pieces",#54 country,1982,MCA label). The 2nd of these at minimum should have made the cut since it wouldn't even have to be licensed. A similar duet with Bob Carlisle (of "Butterfly Kisses" fame) isn't here because it wasn't issued until after this set was compiled.



The last disc is quite a bit shorter than the first 3. It could have been used to put the Jim Reeves duet version of "Have You Ever Been Lonely?" on here, as well as perhaps a couple of the missing single A sides.



I feel taking some of the pieces out of the bio and utilizing them instead for a song-by-song commentary would make the set more "user friendly" when you just want tidbits about individual songs but this is a minor quibble.



BOTTOM LINE:

If you want a single purchase to examine the studio recordings made by Patsy, this is the closest to comprehensive you'll get. There's material from her time with Coral Records (Decca subsidiary), Kapp Records, and of course, Decca where she did the bulk of her work. Perhaps down the line they'll address the missing stuff, but for now buying "Four Star Recordings, Vol. I" (ASIN B0000252PZ) and "Four Star Recordings, Vol. II" (ASIN B00000INJV) will fill in nearly all the gaps.



4 1/2 stars"

What A Legacy....

F. Gentile | Lake Worth, Florida, United States | 07/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Country Music industry can pretty much be summed up, for me at least, as B.P, and A.P. Before Patsy, and after Patsy. The first time I heard her incredible voice, I was hooked. She had one of the most versatile voices in the music world, and her phenomenon is generally regarded as the first unplanned instance of "crossover" appeal, her songs becoming hits on the Pop charts, as well as the Country, which, at that time, had nowhere near the following that country music has today. People who HATE Country music...when you mention Patsy, they'll say, "Oh, well that's different, she was great !". She put her personal stamp on each song, investing a tremulous beauty, or a bluegrass swing, as needed. She took already famous songs that had become heavily identifiable with a particular artist, such as Hank Williams, and made them her own, through the sheer brilliance of her voice. I may be prejudiced in any appraisal of her work, because as far as I'm concerned, she could sing the local yellow pages, and I'd melt. This collection is the most extensive you're going to find. It's nicely chronologically presented, in four c.d.'s. Some may find the first two c.d.'s dated, but I found these songs, which remained pretty obscure...she had not yet achieved *star* status, as wonderful examples of roots music. The last two c.d.'s have all her hits, plus some great covers, some recorded live, including a swinging version of "Stupid Cupid" which ,like all the other songs, she turns into a great listen. Many songs in this collection were re-mastered, and the quality is pin-point sharp. When this collection came out, it became my gift-giving selection of choice that year. I wanted everyone to hear this incomprable artist. Two of my friends, teachers from Manhattan, who are very sophisticated, and more into opera than anything, bought this when they had heard its playing at my house. Their later evaluation: "There's not a bad song on it." Hype had nothing to do with Patsys fame, it was a natural reaction to a universal, God-given talent, and I feel her tragic death in 1963 has little to do with her legendary status. That was due to her talent, which many, many have tried to emulate and repeat, all to no avail. When you mention the name "Patsy Cline", they ALL hold her in reverence. She could put across a heartbreaking ballad, her voice cracking... growl out a bluesy swing-dance tune, inject a yodel to curl your toes, or sing a Gospel song to bring tears to your eyes. Her recordings have remained consistent bestsellers every year since her death, evoking a memory of a different and simpler time, of county fairs, simple folk, and the American dream. Her voice is used to reflect that time in more movies than any other singer, and her recording of "Crazy" is still the number one juke box request to this day. In case you couldn't tell, I HIGHLY recommend this great collection, by one of the greatest singers ever. She defies description, analysis, etc..her voice is simply to be enjoyed, as you would any great work of art or natural wonder. There was only one Patsy."