Various Artists – Remembering Patsy Cline
As with Billie Holliday, Patsy Cline was another legendary singer who burned brightly, died too young (age 30 in 1963) and was many things to different people. Cline grew up as a hard-drinking/hard-living boisterous tomboy who frequented honky-tonks. Thanks to Owen Bradley’s lush production, her public persona was mostly as a gorgeous torch singer; it was only on her posthumous live albums that her love of rockabilly and R&B were made plain.
Remembering Patsy Cline focuses on the pop side most country fans remember. It’s a testament to her broad appeal that along with known worshipers such as k.d. lang, the disc features jazz chanteuses Diana Krall and Norah Jones, pop diva Natalie Cole, teen rocker Michelle Branch, a cappella combo Take 6 and Christian/pop singer Amy Grant.
Because Cline worked with an ace stable of songwriters, any collection of her songs is guaranteed some measure of quality. Not surprisingly, a number of artists work variations of their own styles on the songs. Jones (“Why Can’t He Be You”), lang (“Leavin’ On Your Mind”) and Krall (“Crazy”) bring their low-key, smoky lounge aura; Lee Ann Womack smolders on “She’s Got You”; Patty Griffin delivers emotional honky-tonk on “Faded Love”, and Cole goes over-the-top on “I Fall To Pieces”. More uncharacteristic performances are turned in by Grant (the jaunty, very secular “Back In Baby’s Arms”) and Branch (the gentle, sensual “Strange”).
Though some grand old-timers (Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris) and oddball outsiders (say, Annie Lenox or Bjork) might have spiced things up, this collection does add something to Cline’s legacy: Her work never sounded so lustful and sexy as in these settings, much as they’re likely geared to an adult contemporary audience.