In 1987, Capitol re-released this ten-song disc on CD with five additional tracks, including Helen Reddy’s last three hit singles; this vinyl set contains the ten biggest tunes that built the singer’s legend. Just as George Martin remixed the songs by the group America that he did not originally produce for their “best of,” some of these productions feel like different mixes rather than the sound radio listeners were familiar with. It’s the same voice, and the same musicians; however, “I Am Woman” has more pronounced horns, bigger drums, and Reddy’s voice is clearer than on the original album. It certainly sounds like a superior mix, not what radio listeners were used to, unless the mastering job on this Greatest Hits release contains more defined mastering than the 45 rpm. There’s a special thanks to producer Joe Wissert, so it is very likely he expanded the sound of the Jay Senter recording from her second album; Larry Marks’ work from her debut, I Don’t Know How to Love Him; and possibly some of the Tom Catalano productions as well. Hearing these ten powerful hits together is a strong argument against Reddy’s detractors — she climbed the charts with about as many songs as her friend Petula Clark, and both were embraced by adult contemporary radio. Leon Russell’s “Bluebird” is absent, but the sublime Harriet Schock composition “Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady” is here, the last of her singles from this era to go Top Ten, and second to last adult contemporary number one. It’s a brilliant tune, and striking performance. Francesco Scavullo did the photography, as he did for so many stars, from Janis Joplin to Barbara Streisand and Diana Ross. “You and Me Against the World” is moving and soulful, taking a Paul Williams composition and showing some of the heart Reddy would bring to her Center Stage disc many years later. The original vinyl ten-song version of Helen Reddy’s Greatest Hits is a concise package culled from six of her first seven albums. https://www.allmusic.com/album/helen-reddys-greatest-hits-mw0000453464
THANKS ERIC GRIGS FOR APPRECIATING MY WRITINGS: “Sure, I understand it’s a schmaltzy product, but it fits in beautifully alongside the earnest, breezy early 80s soft pop that was dominating radio at the time, so you have to greet it with that type of listening ear. Collaborator Joe Wissert provides lush production on it, pushing Australian-American Reddy to branch out in unexpected ways. Particularly, the title track: a floating synth dream that Joe Viglione of AllMusic remarked “might as well be the Go-Gos or Missing Persons; it’s a really great new wave pop tune, served up on a vinyl 12” with and extended dance remix for good measure.” We are talking about Helen Reddy, right? The same Reddy that People magazine disparagingly called the “1970s Queen of Housewife Rock?” Yes. If I had one critique of the song, the chorus needs a better hook—but the verses are mesmerizing. The music captures an etherial, dreamy quality that’s hard to get right. Suddenly, steel drums are dropped in that shouldn’t work at all, but somehow they fit brilliantly with the soft pulsating vibrations of the synthesized beats.
Kitty Wells was a major influence on Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and so many other women who crossed over from country to pop. “Too many times married men think they are single” is the sentiment displayed in “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” — which is 1950s male bashing, and Wells’ perfect vocal cuts through the violin and accompaniment. It’s pure country music that is far removed from the slick pop Nashville began manufacturing decades after this groundbreaking disc. “Paying for That Back Street Affair” is one of three Billy Wallace titles, featuring the lyrics “you gambled and I lost/now I must pay with hours of despair.” The songs are full of someone having done someone wrong, and though there is a sameness throughout, vocally and instrumentally, the purity of Wells’ performance and sincerity makes the 12 short stories very appealing. “I don’t claim to be an angel, my life’s been full of sin” is her statement, and she’s sticking to it. Wells covers Roy Acuff, Zeke Clements, and J.B. Miller, and the work is consistently high. The passion in the opening track, Jimmy Work’s “Making Believe,” is powerful stuff, but it’s her performance on the Eddie Miller/Dube Williams/Robert Yount classic “Release Me” which is the album’s high point, as influential as the hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.” This track may have helped establish Engelbert Humperdinck’s career as he took the song to the Top Five in 1967. Jimmy Heap had a country hit with the “Release Me” in 1955, and Esther Phillips took it to the top of the R&B charts in 1962 (as well as Top Ten on the Top 40), but Kitty Wells adds something extra to it here, and her performance of the tune is timeless. Release Me doesn’t have “your lips are sweet as honey” lines, but “There’s Poison in Your Heart” lines, and maybe that’s what makes it so effective. Still, Kitty Wells can take corny country lyrics and deliver them with total sincerity. Kitty Wells Country Hit Parade is a classic of the genre and gave inspiration to decades of male and female vocalists who went on to inspire others. It is entertaining beyond its historical importance.
Good information on ABES BOOKS: ” Not a book but a 12-inch, 33-1/3 rpm “Long Play High Fidelity” (mono) vinyl record album, Decca DL 8293, near-mint vinyl in a near-mint cardboard jacket with one banged corner and a couple of faint tape or sticker ghosts to verso. The Queen of Country Music offers “Release Me,” “Whose Shoulder Will You Cry On,” Roy Acuff’s “Searching for a Soldier’s Grave,” and, of course, J.B. Miller’s “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.” https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30369640277&cm_mmc=ggl--COM_Shopp_Rare--naa-_-naa&gclid=CjwKCAjwh7H7BRBBEiwAPXjadiZVWfLMsW_cScHxmNUFji-yRf0fljozANaQ5Vo6sC2irruAMkKcaRoCxl4QAvD_BwE
This will be our THIRTIETH COMPILATION of local music with many more to come. The CD comes with a booklet, the story of the anthology series and information on each track with the music in the back of the booklet. Produced and directed by Joe Viglione, Varulven Records P.O. Box 2392, Woburn MA 01888 Co-sequencing and assembling: Kenny Selcer. Mastered by Rob Fraboni.
First Video from Anthology Chapter #21 “As it Is” Karmacar Directed and Produced by Jaylie Jo Wayling, granddaughter of Jo Jo Laine.
Audioscam #Kicking and Screaming audioscam.com.au Truly, I do not understand why this band is not played on the radio more, which spins the likes of Rupert Holmes and Stephen Bishop nearly constantly. Audioscam’s music is catchy, non-threatening, and fine at a party of MOR-minded company. The Australian band has been around for a bit over 10 years now, at least, and they have nailed their sound. The harmonies with drummer Brian Pitcher’s high-end vocals, and Wayne Macintosh’s guitar up front is some fun near pop (not Top 10 pop, but perhaps from around 1975). As I implied earlier, this band is definitely radio-friendly, and they should be played on Adult Contemporary MOR stations more. This is closer to an EP than an LP, but that’s what many of Audioscam’s releases tend to be, and I’m cool with that.