20th Century Masters: Classic Patsy Cline (Millennium Collection)
Perhaps more than any singer this side of Elvis, Patsy Cline's legacy has been hashed over time and again by numerous posthumous recordings, most of which are of marginal quality and seldom tell the story properly. This set contains some fine material from the latter part of Cline's career--gorgeous readings ofIrving Berlin's "Always" andHank Williams's "Your Cheatin' Heart" show her aptitude for making standards of both pop and country her own--but it misses the mark by including none of her biggest hits from the era, such as "Crazy," "I Fall to Pieces," and "Sweet Dreams." This collection wins points for truth in advertising--its title reads "Classic," not "Best of"--but approach this one only after you have something more representative of Cline's career--12 Greatest Hits, for example--already in hand.--Daniel Durchholz