Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Walkin' After Midnight
2. Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)
3. Lovesick Blues
4. I Fall to Pieces
5. True Love
6. San Antonio Rose
7. Crazy
8. Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue)
9. South of the Border
10. Strange
11. I Love You So Much It Hurts
12. Foolin' Around
13. Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home
14. She's Got You
15. Heartaches
16. Your Cheatin' Heart

Disc 2:

1. Anytime
2. So Wrong
3. Half as Much
4. When I Get Thru With You (You'll Love Me Too)
5. Imagine That
6. When You Need a Laugh
7. Why Can't He Be You
8. Back in Baby's Arms
9. Leavin' on Your Mind
10. Faded Love
11. Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)
12. Blue Moon of Kentucky
13. Always
14. He Called Me Baby
15. Crazy Arms
16. Sweet Dreams

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #132641 in Music
• Released on: 2000-10-17
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.com
Poor Patsy has been gussied up and repackaged so many times that only Elvis and Hank Williams can rival her for Most Popular Dead Star. This collection of 32 tracks on two CDs doesn't really live up to its name--it's hard to imagine an "ultimate" anthology that omits "There He Goes" and "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray" over such inclusions as "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home." But for fans who want more than a single CD and less than a box set, there's plenty here that thrills, and not just the major hits. Listen, for example, to Cline's pinpoint intonation on "I Love You So Much It Hurts," or how she nails the stratospheric last note on ol' Hank's "Lovesick Blues." Production-wise, some of Owen Bradley's Nashville Sound seems dated, of course, but emotionally, it all sounds so intimate as to have been piped in from the grave. Lord knows there's no contemporary Nashville singer wielding this kind of artistry. Or, for that matter, moxie. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews

A must for any respectable music collection!
It is really a crime that Patsy Cline's music has not been given the digital treatment it deserves. Most of her current catalog consists of discs mastered in the late 1980s, including her must-have "Greatest Hits" album. But "The Ultimate Collection" currently ranks as the digital Cline anthology to definitely own. It sounds absolutely great--even the earliest cut here, "Walkin' After Midnight," sounds full and rich. Along with all the staples--"I Fall to Pieces," "Crazy" and "Back in Baby's Arms"--this collection features some really wonderful performances. I really love her version of the song usually credited to Hank Williams, "Lovesick Blues." For a more maudlin, but affecting cut, check out "She's Got You." Patsy Cline is generally regarded as a country singer, but "The Ultimate Collection" shows her off as one of the working pop singers of the last fifty years. Behind Owen Bradley's great arrangements as well as great song selection, Patsy can be mentioned in the same category as Frank Sinatra or even Elvis Presley. Many of these songs ROCK--like a more polished version of Wanda Jackson--and others are as lush as the great arrangements of Nelson Riddle on those old Sinatra records. This two-disc set adds new dimensions to her work for those only familiar with her "Greatest Hits" album. Highly, highly recommended!

Remember when...
I was born in 1970, so I didn't grow up with any of these songs. I've heard a few of them, so I decided to take the plunge and buy this $20 double disc set. Was I disappointed? Heck no!!!

The thing that stands out in my mind with this recording is how simplistic the song lyrics, structure and delivery are. The lyrics so simple and predictable, yet carry strong messages. You don't have to encrypt lyrics, like they do today, to get across a point. The song structure is slappingly simple too, with most songs running between two and three minutes. You won't find any Paradise By The Dashboard Lights or American Pie marthons here. (By the way, those songs are each over eight minutes!) Lastly is the delivery by Patsy Cline. She sold her songs on her vocal delivery. She didn't need to have tribal drums and synthesizers playing in the back (although neither was around during her time), but it's the simplicity that makes it great.

This is a definite buy if you want to keep around a musical "time machine" that will take you back...back to when things were a bit purer and less complicated...

Truly Ultimate Collection of the Ultimate Country Singer
This CD includes both Patsy's often heard songs and some pleasant surprises. Her rendition of "True Love" and " A Poor Man's Roses" are a show case for her unique voice. We would recommeng this CD for all of Patsy's fans and if your not a fan it could well make you one.