Stop, Look and Listen [Bear Family]

by Patsy Cline

Overview

Although her recording career was a relatively brief one, running eight years from 1955 to 1963, for the first five years of that span Patsy Cline tracked heavily, skipping from style to style, touching on gospel and straight pop, and even edging at times into near-rockabilly territory. Unfortunately, she was under a strict contract with Bill McCall's 4-Star label during this time that restricted her to recording only material in the 4-Star publishing catalog, and while her efforts were workmanlike, all too often the songs just weren't top shelf, her 1957 hit "Walkin' After Midnight" being one of the notable exceptions. This generous 32-track anthology from Germany's Bear Family Records dips into Cline's 4-Star period, collecting some of her more uptempo sides, and for listeners only familiar with her later Owen Bradley-produced hits like "Crazy" and "I Fall to Pieces," this will be a revelatory experience (Bradley also produced her 4-Star sessions, but you can't shine up a bland song into a diamond no matter how great your singer is). Cline's forte was with seductive, sensual ballads and she really had no future as a rockabilly singer, but she tries here and she's just too good of a singer not to be at least interesting on sides like the rollicking "Ain't No Wheels on This Ship (We Can't Roll)," a competent cover of "Lovesick Blues," and the perky, bubbling pop of "Stupid Cupid," but again, only "Walkin' After Midnight," which is included here, really gives her much to work with. After 1960 Cline had control over what she recorded and her considerable legacy really rests on the tracks she did with Bradley over the last three years of her life. This set fills in some holes, though, and while it may not be top-shelf Patsy Cline, it's still Patsy Cline, which means it's definitely worth a listen or two. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	03/11/2011
Label:	Bear Family Records
UPC:	4000127167811
Rank:	65659

Tracks

1. I Don't Wanta
2. Stop, Look and Listen
3. Ain't No Wheels on This Ship (We Can't Roll)
4. Stop the World (And Let Me Off)
5. Never No More
6. Honky Tonk Merry Go Round
7. Lovesick Blues
8. I Love You, Honey
9. Turn the Cards Slowly
10. Too Many Secrets
11. Walking Dream
12. There He Goes
13. Gotta Lot of Rhythm in My Soul
14. In Care of the Blues
15. Let the Teardrops Fall
16. Hungry for Love
17. Walkin' After Midnight
18. Love, Love, Love Me Honey Do
19. Today, Tomorrow and Forever
20. Don't Ever Leave Me Again
21. Try Again
22. A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)
23. How Can I Face Tomorrow
24. I'm Moving Along
25. Crazy Dreams
26. I Don't Wanta
27. Stop, Look and Listen
28. Love, Love, Love Me Honey Do
29. For Rent (One Empty Heart)
30. Side by Side
31. Stupid Cupid

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Patsy Cline   Primary Artist
The Anita Kerr Singers   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Bob Hilliard   Composer
Irving Mills   Composer
Bobby Lile   Composer
Jack Morrow   Composer
Barbara Vaughan   Composer
Cliff Friend   Composer
Frank Simon   Composer
Chandler   Composer
Eddie Miller   Composer,Composer
Carl Belew   Composer
Rita Ross   Composer
Don Hecht   Composer
W.S. Stevenson   Composer
Virginia Hensley   Composer
Wayland Chandler   Composer
Johnny Starr   Composer
Lillian Clarborne   Composer
Sammy Masters   Composer
Lillian N. Claiborne   Composer
Neil Sedaka   Composer
Jerry Le Fors   Composer
Jimmie Loden   Composer
Richard Pope   Composer
Milton Delugg   Composer
Alan Block   Composer
Charles L. Jiles   Composer
Harry Woods   Composer
James Crawford   Composer
Durwood Haddock   Composer
Don Reid   Composer
Howard Greenfield   Composer
Ginger Willis   Composer
Hal Willis   Composer
Hank Cochran   Composer
Bob Summers   Composer
Jimmy Crawford   Composer
George London   Composer
Virgil F. Stewart   Composer
Charles Beam   Composer
Donald Hecht   Composer
Tex Satterwhite   Composer
Stan Gardner   Composer
Velma Smith   Composer