Most complete Lynne collection so far...
Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 06/05/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Over her seven-year span with Everest Records in the late 50's and early 60's, Gloria Lynne had many albums and singles released but with surprisingly muted commercial success. The new 2-disc compilation from Acrobat Music of the U.K. gathers up many of the A- and B-sides of her single releases in a superior package. Reissues and compilation CD's of Lynne's Everest output are not rare but the quality of many of those pieces varies greatly from decent to downright shoddy.
While five of her Everest single releases made the top-100, when English lyrics were added to a French song written in the '40's and became "I Wish You Love", Lynne finally gained some widespread recognition. Though the legacy of "I Wish You Love" endures, Lynne has, to a large extent, remained a "great unknown" in the realm of 20th century pop music.
This well-executed collection, while not going beyond her Everest years, does provide a solid overview of her recordings from the period. Contained are 43 songs on 2 CD's along with a 12-page liner notes booklet with track details, photos and a career overview. While the sound quality varies somewhat, it is mostly superior to many of the other Lynne CD's available in the marketplace. Damage to the Everest vaults has meant that some of the masters have been lost and consequently the sources used for reissues are at best sometimes less than pristine. Most of the tracks appear in their stereo versions with a few in mono (D1: tracks 2,10; D2: tracks 3,4,6,20) and a few in what sounds like electronically rechannelled versions (D1: tracks 19,20; D2: track 10). While not all of first-generation tape quality, more care has been taken here to use decent sources as compared with some of the Collectables Lynne CD's that are downright poor.
For the fan of this underrecognized jazz performer looking for an overview package, this new collection shines above the rest."
