And this strength is apparent in every song the woman sings, no matter how much heartbreak the lyrics include. Patsy would probably reject the word `feminist' and all the negative connotations its picked up over the years, but if we limited its meaning to that of unshakable confidence and self-awareness it would certainly encompass Patsy. Her every performance suggests a woman keenly aware of the scope of her talent, and she applied like the unerring pro she was.

Songs like "She's Got You," "I Fall To Pieces" and especially "Crazy" were substantially crossing over to the pop charts and pulling in even young rock and roll fans like I already was by that time. Had she lived, Patsy would surely have continued this accomplishment to even greater heights. Her first No. 1 pop hit was only one or two records away, no doubt. But once I heard her, even this 50-year-old R&B fan knew the Real Deal when I came upon it, and Patsy Cline is IT.

17 of 18 found the following review helpful:


CRAZY...ABOUT PATSY CLINE...  Mar 10, 2004 By Lawyeraau
This hard living, hard loving, country diva had one of the most emotive voices in the history of country music. In her too short career, cut prematurely in a plane crash, she managed to put together a notable roster of musical hits and was a crossover sensation.

This is an absolutely definitive CD. There is simply not one bad cut on it, with stand outs such as: "Crazy", "She's Got You", "Back in Baby's Arms", "Why Can't He Be You", and "Leaving on Your Mind". Ten of the cuts on this CD were top ten tunes on the pop charts of the time, while seven of them made the top ten on the country charts. Fans of Ms. Cline's, as well as those music lovers just wanting a great CD, would be well satisfied with it, more so now that it has been re-mastered and available at a give away price.

15 of 17 found the following review helpful:


I REMEMBER PATSY  Oct 30, 2005 By D. W. Rossa "D. W. Rossa"
I was born in 1931 and I lived through all the changes of the music from HILLBILLY to COUNTRY-SWING to COUNTRY WESTERN and then just plain COUNTRY.

Every Saturday night I would pull my chair up to the radion and start to carefully turn the dial until I found the WSM GRAND OLY OPRY - then I had to keep turning it to keep the station coming in to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I have been a dyed-in-the-wool Hillbilly/western swing/country western/ and now just plain country music fan almost since it began.

I LOVE PATSY CLINE and cried when she died in the plane crash with two of her traveling companions. She had the most beautiful voice. She was/and still is the best.

Dorothy W. Rossa
Chicago, Illinois


9 of 10 found the following review helpful:


Perfection.  Jul 12, 2004 By Bernard Chapin "Ora Et Labora!"
I'm not a country music fan but if all country sounded like this then there wouldn't be so many jokes about it. Cline's voice is amazing and the range of emotion she conveys in her simple, poignant intonations overpower a million "I love you's" from the pop songs of today. She is clear, elegant, and haunting. I can't say enough about her. It's too bad that she didn't live longer; just think of what she could have accomplished. My personal favorite is "I Fall to Pieces" but there isn't a bad song to be found on the record.

9 of 10 found the following review helpful:


This remastered collection sounds better than ever!  Jan 18, 2004 By guillermoj
This Patsy Cline primer was first released in 1967, and its first CD incarnation in 1988 was acceptable but Patsy's voice (we'll get to that in a minute) sounded muted and lost. What a nice surprise (even though I shelled out money for the 1988 CD) it is to hear a much improved mix that brings Patsy to the front.

This CD is a must for casual listeners of her country-soul sound as it showcases a musical powerhouse that knocks you off your feet with its subtle intensity and melody. She does not resort to the histrionics of other artists and she knew that sometimes you can express much more by being less showy.

This collection includes a dozen simply brilliant songs from Cline's catalog. The biggest and best-known hits are here, such as: "Walkin' After Midnight," "Crazy," "Sweet Dreams," "He's Got You", and some that you may not have heard before ("You're Stronger Than Me", "She's got you," and "Why Can't He Be You)."

Patsy in an amazing artist who was a pioneer by setting a well-deserved place on the table for female country artists. In short, if you're a casual listener looking for a good single-disc Patsy Cline collection, for more hard-core fans there is the amazing 4 set box set titled "The Patsy Cline Collection", which gathers it all.

Some professional reviewers have been a little harsh about this CD in that its cover is exactly the same as when it was first released and it has the original notes. I actually love that. You'll also find an updated perspective of how her work has been perceived since this collection was initially released. A no-brainer 5 stars if there ever was one.

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