Track Listing

1. Walkin' After Midnight
2. Sweet Dreams
3. Crazy
4. I Fall to Pieces
5. So Wrong
6. Strange
7. Back in Baby's Arms
8. She's Got You
9. Faded Love
10. Why Can't He Be You
11. You're Stronger Than Me
12. Leavin' on Your Mind

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5329 in Music
• Released on: 1990-11-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
In the late 1950s and the '60s, country music was essentially a singles medium. This album, first released in 1967 and reissued on compact disc in 1988, collects Patsy Cline's biggest hits--all of them from the country singles market--including "Walkin' After Midnight," "Sweet Dreams (Of You)," "Crazy," and "I Fall to Pieces." Producer Owen Bradley surrounds Cline's full-throated, emotionally charged vocals with lush, sophisticated arrangements that set the standard for Nashville's "countrypolitan" sound. Before Shania Twain found a new (though not necessarily improved) way to combine country and pop in the 1990s, this was the top-selling country album of all time by a female artist. --Rick Mitchell

Customer Reviews

A door to a new level of musical pleasure
I bought the CD to hear "Crazy" -- which I now think may be the most perfect piece of music I've ever heard -- not expecting to care much for the rest of it. You know how it is, you like one song by an artist but that's about it. Boy was I in for a surprise.

There is something about the timbre of this woman's voice that I feel as so strongly beautiful that I get teary when I hear certain notes that she sings. A rich, strong, clear-as-a-bell voice -- she sings with such authority and yet with such delicacy when the song calls for it. Her voice is unique -- it can't be duplicated -- it's pure Patsy and that human being is gone forever. Thank goodness Thomas Edison made it possible to record music, that's all I have to say.

There's a reason that 37 years after her death and the end of her short career she is still revered as one of the most important singers of the 20th century. You may have dismissed her as only a country singer, but her music goes so far beyond that. BUY THIS CD. You will not regret it.

One Of Music's Finest Vocalists Ever
There are many fans of music out there who consider Patsy Cline a country singer. Many forget that her first success was on the Pop charts. To me, she is simply one of the best singers of any genre - ever. Her vocal phrasing was almost perfect and the gut-wrenching emotion that she sang with further enhanced her performances. This CD is filled with hits, all recorded within a short period of time in her too short career. Producer Owen Bradley culled some of the finest performances from Cline heard here. The addition of the Jordanaires as backing vocalists (especially on "Walkin' After Midnight" and "I Fall To Pieces") is perfect. The musical accompaniment doesn't crowd Cline and allows her perfect voice to take center stage - as it should be. Before country/pop music was taken hostage by the plasticness of a talentless, substanceless Shania Twain, there was a true, real performer with a voice to match. A superb vocalist, Patsy Cline is still missed.

One of the 20th century's greatest vocalists
Patsy Cline (1932-63) is considered a pioneering legend of country music. But in fact, she is one of those important performers who transcends genre. "12 Greatest Hits" contains some truly great songs. Each of Cline's interpretations is a multi-layered, full-bodied performance; you will hear new nuances on repeated listenings.

Cline's voice is amazing--smooth as honey, often as sweet, and illuminated with a passionate inner fire. She can sound both heartbroken and ironic in the same song. She truly uses these songs as vehicles by which to express the universal truths of human love and pain.

I first got interested in Patsy Cline after seeing the film "Coal Miner's Daughter." Beverly D'Angelo turns in a superb supporting performance as Cline in the film. My recommendation? See the film, and then enjoy this disc of classic Cline.