Disco de Patty Loveless: “Definitive Collection”

I became a huge fan of her music following my purchase of her debut album, simply titled Patty Loveless (on the MCA label) soon after its release. It seems that I was one of a small number of such fans because the album did not sell in vast quantities. You get a fair idea of the quality of that album from the first four tracks here (Lonely days lonely nights, Wicked ways, I did, After all). Two of these songs are by Karen Staley, who has become a prolific country songwriter but never made it as a singer in her own right.

Patty's second album (If my heart had windows) maintained the quality of the first but didn't provide the big breakthrough. It is represented here by You saved me (an original song), the title track (one of the best covers of a George Jones song that I've heard) and A little bit in love (another outstanding cover, this time of a Steve Earle song).

Patty's career gathered momentum with her third album(Honky tonk angel), which yielded two country number one hits (Timber I'm falling in love, Chains) and three other country hits (Blue side of town, Don't toss us away, Lonely side of love). All five are included here. This was Patty's most successful album during her period with MCA. I guess it wasn't easy being on the same label as Reba McEntire and it got harder when Trisha Yearwood joined the label and achieved instant stardom.

Patty's fourth album (On down the line) did quite well but less so than its predecessor. It is represented here by Night's too long (written by Lucinda Williams), I'm that kind of girl, Blue memories and the title track.

Patty's fifth and last album for MCA is also represented by four tracks (Hurt me bad in a real good way, Jealous bone, Can't stop myself from loving you, Nobody loves you like I do). By the time of its release, MCA were much more interested in Trisha than Patty and may not have committed themselves wholeheartedly to marketing the album. With Reba selling more records than ever before, it was no surprise to anybody that Patty left MCA. I'm also a huge fan of Reba and Trisha so I can understand the difficulty that one label would have in keeping all three happy.

Following those twenty tracks taken from her five original MCA albums, there are two from her subsequent career with Epic. Those two tracks (You can feel bad, Lonely too long) both made number one on the country charts but their presence here isn't strictly necessary as they can be found on one of her original Epic albums (Trouble with the truth) as well as a compilation (Classics) that focuses on her Epic recordings, but they are welcome here anyway.

For Patty's committed fans, there can be no substitute for buying the original albums, but this is a magnificent collection of Patty's early music. Although Patty achieved greater commercial success with her Epic recordings, her MCA recordings were every bit as good.

Patty Loveless is unknown to the vast majority of Australians, but after picking up an album (any one will do) in a sale for $5, my partner and I played it almost daily for months and were more impressed at each listen. So we ordered this collection to catch up.

We particularly like the rock/blues side of female country - Shelby Lynne, Sheryl Crow - but we also adore Patsy Cline. Patty bridges the gap while never really leaving the country realm. If you look at her album covers over the years, it's a roller-coaster ride of image changes, but the music hasn't jumped aboard.

The latest album is just as convincing as these older highlights(the odd, redundant cover version is sneaking in, but everyone's playing that game these days). Patty and her band blow the opposition away, in the nicest possible way, seemingly without trying, which of course is the secret.

Any man or woman can relate to a Patty Loveless song. Whether it's struggling over a broken relationship, finding true love or just having a good time, there's something in Loveless' catalogue that will touch just about anybody's heart. This compilation, which focuses primarily on her work with MCA, is presented in chronological order from her "Lonely Days, Lonely Nights" single to two Epic label releases (and number one tunes), "You Can Feel Bad" and "Lonely Too Long." There are some nice liner notes by Robyn Flans and a few pics of Loveless from throughout her career.

Loveless has a unique voice that can burn like a fire on twangy tunes like "Chains," channel Patsy Cline on wailers like "Don't Toss Us Away" and even sound like it's crying on songs such as "If My Heart Had Windows." This compilation features all of those hits as well as the popular "I'm That Kind Of Girl," "The Blue Side Of Town" and "Hurt Me Bad (In A Real Good Way)."

With twenty-two tracks burned into it, this disc is a great find for fans of Loveless who don't have all of her albums. It's also a great way to introduce a new fan to Loveless' wonderful sound. Casual fans will also benefit from this album since it does include all of her biggest MCA hits. It's an all around excellent album, period. Go out and get a copy if you don't have one yet.

Though Patty Loveless emerged with increased commercial success after her move to Epic, she had consistently produced high quality work during her tenure with MCA, with head-scratching, mid-level to ultimately diminishing returns(at least retail-wise, and probably in no small part due to MCA's push of Reba, then Trisha Yearwood, then solo Wynonna, but that's another story). Nevertheless, her years at MCA definitely laid the groundwork for greater things to come, and this compilation supercedes anything previously released by the label with regards to throughly covering Loveless' catalog while at MCA. She did in fact have numerous hits(dual number ones "Timber, I'm Falling In Love" and "Chains"), but also released songs that didn't hit as big but nonetheless remain some of the finest work she's released(a sterling cover of Lucinda Williams' "The Night's Too Long", as well as the could-have-been Patsy Cline classic "Can't Stop Myself From Loving You"). The inclusion of two of her Epic number ones("You Can Feel Bad" and "Lonely Too Long")seems somewhat odd in context, but nevertheless this is a very fine overview of arguably the most commercially underrated mainstream country artist(male or female) of the last twenty years.

patty lovelace is an artist that when she has a hit its a hit, when she has an average song its just that.this sums up this collection.i believe she changed labels and mabay this is why not all here best material is here?or else the record company is smart to leave some stuff off so you have to buy another compilation. the best thing to do is make your own patty loveless hits cd yourself putting her best material on, we all know what her hits are.with some big hits missing and some average album cuts through out this could be for you.