Lynn Anderson - Golden Classics Edition

From its breathless opening rush of pile-driver strings, Lynn Anderson's signature hit, "Rose Garden," announces itself to be every bit as pop as it is country, and consequently it stands as a supreme example of the countrypolitan sound. A crossover smash, "Rose Garden" was nothing less than a dense, twangy version of Phil Specter's Wall of Sound, all pounding country rhythms, whizzing steel guitar, soaring backing vocals, and dramatic strings. What gets lost a bit in there, though, is that Anderson was a fine and subtle country singer, a gift she displays repeatedly on Golden Classics, never more so than on countrypolitan classics like "How Can I Unlove You" and her thrilling 1972 version of the pop standard "Cry." --David Cantwell Amazon.com

Songs are Missing

I'm kind of disappointed here; there is one of my favorites of hers that is missing here. Instead we get what, a bunch of covers? Including For the Good Times, I want to hear Ray Price singing that song, nobody sings it like him, and it's a classic not to be tampered with. Meanwhile the Lynn Anderson songs I want are missing. I guess I'll have to content myself with the copy I have on Beta. November 10, 2005

Great value compilation

This album is great value for money, combining Lynn Anderson's albums Rose Garden and You're My Man in one. It is mainly a collection of country and pop classics from the late 1960s and early 1970s but Anderson's interpretations never fail to please.

Backed by a lush, string-driven country pop sound, she delivers memorable and engaging covers of hits like For The Good Times, I Don't Want To Play House, Snowbird and It's Only Make Believe. I also love her version of Dawn's huge 1971 hit Knock Three Times and Flying Machine, Cliff Richard's not so huge hit from the same year.

She even makes Three Dog Night's Joy To The World her own, although I don't think she succeeds so well on Sunday Morning Coming Down. Somehow I just can't see Lynn stumbling down the stairs with a hangover on a Sunday morning!

Other very listenable numbers include You're My Man, I Can Spot A Cheater, Cry, Cry Again, the gospel song Put Your Hand In The Hand and Help Me Make It Through The Night. She has a full and warm country voice and the backing is beautiful in that early 1970s way. I love this album as it really evokes the innocent spirit of the seventies. November 18, 2003

Two classic albums from one of country's finest singers

There was a time when Lynn was one of the most important ladies in country music, though that is not reflected in CD releases. I bought nearly all her albums on vinyl, but very few have ever been released on CD. This twofer contains the two most obvious.

Both albums contain plenty of covers. Indeed, Rose garden was itself a cover. It was written by Joe South and originally appeared on the same album of his that included Games people play (which has also been covered by Lynn, but her version has never appeared on CD). Lynn had a major international hit with it, going high in the pop charts in Britain, America and many other countries.

Among the songs covered by Lynn on the Rose Garden album are For the good times (Kris Kristofferson), Another lonely night (Jean Shepherd), I don?t want to play house (Tammy Wynette), Snowbird (Anne Murray), Sunday morning coming down (Kris Kristofferson) and It?s only make believe (Conway Twitty). The original songs include two co-written by her then-husband (Your sweet love lifted me, I wish I was a little boy again) and Nothing between us, a song Lynn wrote herself.

The second album is You?re my man. The title track, one of four songs that Glenn Sutton wrote or co-wrote, was a huge country hit. Most, if not all, of the other songs are covers, including Knock three times (Tony Orlando and Dawn), Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival), Help me make it through the night (Kris Kristofferson), Put your hand in the hand (first recorded by Anne Murray) and Joy to the world (Three dog night).

On this edition, four bonus tracks are added. These are some of her other hits from her peak years.

These are not my absolute favorite Lynn Anderson albums, but they are excellent and they are the only ones from her peak years so far released on CD, except for a Christmas album that was made available for a short time and is now a collector?s item. Buy this now to encourage record companies to release more of Lynn?s music on CD. March 30, 2003

Country, rock, standards: what's not to enjoy?

Songbird Lynn Anderson likely gained her widest recognition with her 1970 crossover mega-smash "Rose Garden." From there and in only a relatively few years, Ms. Anderson carved her own niche in music annals with an array of signature songs, "Rose Garden" notwithstanding. But who can't help but feel the rushing tide of emotion in her powerful and soulful version of "Cry" and an equally powerful "How Can I Unlove You?" You don't have to be an Anderson fan to savor this 26-track CD that boasts the best (so far) of vintage Lynn, some surprising hidden gems like Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down" and a few standards. For the dedicated Anderson fan, this compilation is perhaps her best (again, so far) and no Anderson musical library is complete without it. Even if you're not an Anderson fan, you'll probably get so wrapped up in the lady's vocal charms that you won't notice the hours of enjoyment going by. To all who haven't heard from the lady lately, it'd be inaccurate to dub this CD "the best of." Incredibly, she's still giving her best! March 15, 2003

Back when the voice is what counted most!

Back in the early '70s, I had the Rose Garden LP and nearly wore it out. I really enjoyed the soaring vocals and strings that were seamlessly melded together. Her style was indeed unique during this period. I had a Panasonic 4-channel system(the one with the joystick balance control for the four speakers), and while browsing in the record section found a 4-channel release of the Rose Garden LP. It, along with the rest of my record collection, was unfortunately stolen during a military transfer and I haven't been able to find another copy. My favorites on this album are 'Rocky Top', 'Nothing Between Us' and 'Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down'. The latter one, written by Kris Kristofferson, was made popular by Johnny Cash, but Lynn puts so much more of herself into this one. It was orchestrated with a choir that, in surround sound, comes up all around the room and raises goosebumps on the first-time listener. This would be an excellent candidate to be remastered in DTS. For classic country/pop crossover, this album is a must. July 16, 2001

More reviews at Amazon.com ...