Patty Loveless

Classics

The title says it all

Review Score:

(10/10)
Patty Loveless left MCA Records in 1992 because she believed she was getting lost among a strong female roster which included Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, and Wynonna. She signed with Epic Records in 1993 and - with husband Emory Gordy as producer - subsequently made the most consistently pleasing country albums of any female artist in recent years.

Classics contains nine of the best recordings from Loveless' first four Epic albums. Toe tappers like "You Can Feel Bad" and "I Try To Think About Elvis" are complemented by heartbreaking, stone-country ballads such as "Nothin' But The Wheel" and "You Don't Even Know Who I Am."

Most noteworthy are the all too realistic sleepover saga "Lonely Too Long" and the award-winning tearjerker "How Can I Help You To Say Goodbye." In lesser hands, the latter tune would have been insufferably maudlin. Loveless, however, infuses it with so much deep-felt emotion that it instead became a true classic - the ultimate country song dealing with loss.

Since Loveless's string of hit singles at Epic has been hefty, fans will undoubtably be disappointed that not all of their favorites were chosen for inclusion on this collection. "You Will," "She Drew A Broken Heart," and "To Have You Back Again" are just some of the omitted gems which would have easily made it onto most other artists' hit sets.

Though we don't get all of the hits, we do get a troika of great new Loveless recordings. "Can't Get Enough" finds Patty rockin' as she looks to get more out of life, while she gets sassy and aroused on the mid-tempo "I Just Wanna Be Loved By You." Best of all is "My Kind Of Woman, My Kind Of Man," the long awaited duet with Vince Gill. This ode of devotion is a simple but marvelous showcase for their heavenly harmonies.

There's been a lot wrong with country music in the `90s. Classics is a great example of what is right. Run don't walk to your local record store and get it today!

More Reviews: