Bette Midler - Jackpot: The Best Bette

As the first Bette Midler compilation since 1993's Experience the Divine, Rhino's 2008 Jackpot: The Best Bette is a bit of a long time coming, but as Midler's time as a Top 40 hitmaker essentially ended around 1993 -- while she had a few hits in the years that followed, none of them beg enough to warrant inclusion here -- there wasn't necessarily a great call for a new collection of her hits. The strange thing is, Experience the Divine was the first U.S. compilation of Midler's career, and it was skewed ever so slightly to her big adult contemporary hits from the late '80s and early '90s, downplaying her career-making vaudeville of the '70s. Jackpot strikes a bit of a better balance between all eras of her career, including the years since 1993, winding up as a better overall portrait of Midler's recordings. Not all of her hits are here but all the big ones are, from "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" to "Wind Beneath My Wings," rounded out by some sharp selections from albums ranging from 1972's The Divine Miss M to 2003's Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook. As this covers a lot of ground -- including "Cool Yule" -- it doesn't quite gel as well as it seems like it should, but the showy, often campy eclecticism winds up being a fitting testament to Midler's career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Aaron Gershman Art Direction Ahmet Ertegun Producer, Original Recording Producer Alessandra Quaranta Photo Research Arif Mardin Original Recording Producer, Producer, Mixing, Horn Arrangements Barry Manilow Producer, Conductor, Original Recording Producer, Arranger Barry Mason Producer, Original Recording Producer Bernie Grundman Remastering Bette Sussman Producer Bill Gazecki Mixing Bill Inglot Project Assistant Bill Schnee Mixing Bob Liftin Mixing Cheryl Pawelski Project Supervisor Chuck Plotkin Producer, Original Recording Producer Don Smith Mixing Don Was Original Recording Producer, Producer Ed Cherney Mixing Ellen Poppinga Photography Firooz Zahedi Photography Garry Kief Executive Producer Geoffrey Haslam Mixing, Producer, Original Recording Producer Glenn Schwartz Project Assistant Greg Gorman Cover Photo, Photography Jack Joseph Puig Mixing Jay Landers A&R, Producer, Executive Producer, Liner Notes Jill Hattersley Project Assistant Joel Dorn Producer, Original Recording Producer Kris Ahrend Project Assistant Lewis Hahn Mixing Marc Hulett Producer Marc Shaiman Conductor, Vocal Arrangement, Arranger, Producer, Original Recording Producer Mick Guzauski Mixing Paul Rothchild Arranger, Mixing, Producer, Original Recording Producer Ramon Galbert Product Manager Rob Ondarza Project Assistant Robbie Buchanan Producer, Arranger, Original Recording Producer Robert Kraft Producer, Original Recording Producer Sara Cumings Art Direction, Design Scott Erickson Producer Steve Skinner Arranger Steve Woolard Discographical Annotation Steven P. Gorman Photo Research Thom Bell String Arrangements, Horn Arrangements Vanessa Atkins Editorial Supervision William S. Fischer String Arrangements Zach Cowie Project Assistant