Jackpot: The Best Bette

by Bette Midler

Overview

As the first Bette Midler compilation since 1993's Experience the Divine, Rhino's 2008 Jackpot: The Best Bette is a bit of a long time coming, but as Midler's time as a Top 40 hitmaker essentially ended around 1993 -- while she had a few hits in the years that followed, none of them beg enough to warrant inclusion here -- there wasn't necessarily a great call for a new collection of her hits. The strange thing is, Experience the Divine was the first U.S. compilation of Midler's career, and it was skewed ever so slightly to her big adult contemporary hits from the late '80s and early '90s, downplaying her career-making vaudeville of the '70s. Jackpot strikes a bit of a better balance between all eras of her career, including the years since 1993, winding up as a better overall portrait of Midler's recordings. Not all of her hits are here but all the big ones are, from "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" to "Wind Beneath My Wings," rounded out by some sharp selections from albums ranging from 1972's The Divine Miss M to 2003's Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook. As this covers a lot of ground -- including "Cool Yule" -- it doesn't quite gel as well as it seems like it should, but the showy, often campy eclecticism winds up being a fitting testament to Midler's career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	09/23/2008
Label:	Rhino
UPC:	0081227993948

Tracks

1. In The Mood
2. This Ole House
3. Beast Of Burden
4. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
5. The Rose
6. When A Man Loves A Woman
7. I've Still Got My Health
8. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
9. Hello In There
10. The Glory Of Love
11. Tenderly
12. Wind Beneath My Wings
13. Do You Want To Dance?
14. Baby Mine
15. From A Distance
16. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy [Single Version]
17. Friends
18. Something Your Heart Has Been Telling Me
19. Cool Yule

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bette Midler   Primary Artist
Barry Manilow   Conductor
Marc Shaiman   Conductor

Technical Credits

Paul Rothchild   Arranger,Producer,Audio Production,Original Recording Producer,Mixing
Barry Manilow   Arranger,Producer,Audio Production,Original Recording Producer
Bette Sussman   Producer
Bernie Grundman   Remastering
Bill Inglot   Project Assistant
Bob Liftin   Mixing
Bill Schnee   Mixing
Cheryl Pawelski   Project Supervisor
Jack Joseph Puig   Mixing
Chuck Plotkin   Producer,Original Recording Producer
Geoffrey Haslam   Mixing,Producer,Original Recording Producer
Steve Woolard   Discographical Annotation
Jay Landers   A&R,Producer,Liner Notes,Executive Producer
Robert Kraft   Producer,Audio Production,Original Recording Producer
Lewis Hahn   Mixing
Marc Hulett   Producer
Mick Guzauski   Mixing
Arif Mardin   Mixing,Producer,Audio Production,Horn Arrangements,Original Recording Producer
Ahmet Ertegun   Producer,Audio Production,Original Recording Producer
Thom Bell   Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements
Marc Shaiman   Arranger,Producer,Audio Production,Vocal Arrangement,Original Recording Producer
William S. Fischer   String Arrangements
Steve Skinner   Arranger
Don Was   Producer,Audio Production,Original Recording Producer
Joel Dorn   Producer,Audio Production,Original Recording Producer
Geogre Haslam   Audio Production
Ed Cherney   Mixing
Don Smith   Mixing
Robbie Buchanan   Arranger,Producer,Original Recording Producer
Glenn Schwartz   Project Assistant
Garry Kief   Executive Producer
Vanessa Atkins   Editorial Supervision
Sara Cumings   Design,Art Direction
Ramon Galbert   Product Manager
Steven P. Gorman   Photo Research
Jill Hattersley   Project Assistant
Zach Cowie   Project Assistant
Kris Ahrend   Project Assistant
Aaron Gershman   Art Direction
Scott Erickson   Producer
Firooz Zahedi   Photography
Bill Gazecki   Mixing
Greg Gorman   Cover Photo,Photography
Barry Mason   Producer,Audio Production,Original Recording Producer
Ellen Poppinga   Photography
Rob Ondarza   Project Assistant
Alessandra Quaranta   Photo Research