| 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) |