There is an exact blend of country and pop that went into the classic
albums by this enchanting country songstress. Anyone capable of reproducing
this formula would be followed everywhere by country artists and pop stars.
Unfortunately, what actually happened in the era of this music's first
wave of popularity was that everyone cooked up an individual recipe. And
many of these productions had as much good taste as spaghetti sauce does
after someone stirs in the burned bits from the bottom of the pan. Producer
Owen Bradley's approach to Patsy Cline does have its moments of bad taste
as well, and even the biggest fans of these albums will have moments when
they will wish the male vocal chorus had gotten caught in traffic somewhere
in the pretzel of Nashville's freeway system. Air and forget these complaints,
because what is here is a rare type of country music that maintains its
identity without marching forward with the usual troops of pedal steel
and twangy guitars. The combo sound that is created has an incredibly
light swing -- the drummer is often using brushes -- and there is an effortless
sense of propulsion through rhythm arrangements both catchy and intelligent.
What she and the musicians do with the numbers by Hank Williams is nothing
short of a revelation, while the ballads such as "Lonely Street"
are done with a moody flair that has never quite been matched.
(by Eugene Chadbourne, All
Music Guide)
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