Search - Cris Williamson :: The Best Of Cris Williamson

All the standards, few surprises

C. Brennan | 09/27/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is mostly standard Cris Williamson fare: all that you'd expect, all the tunes everyone sings at her concerts. For such an expansive career, 17 tracks hardly seems sufficient to properly encompass the body of her work. Her pre-Olivia work isn't represented at all, which is a shame.I was surprised to see "Surrender Dorothy" included in this collection, as it was a fairly weak composition, more of a novelty tune from the "Blue Rider" album. I would have much preferred to see the title track from that album instead. Williamson has a long history of including at least one novelty tune on each album, some better than others. I suppose "Surrender Dorothy" is included because of its general application as a glbt cultural reference point. Too bad.The omission of "Texas Ruby Red" seems a mistake also. The original release featured classic Bonnie Raitt slide guitar...tho so did "Blue Rider" and "Lucille". Wonder if maybe WB wouldn't give Olivia the authorization...As ever - or at least since 1983 - Tret Fure figures largely in the production value: her influence was ever more present in Williamson's recordings from that point forward, for better and in some respects, for worse. At any rate, this is a servicable collection of Williamson's offerings, up to 1990, and a good introduction to the overall body of her work for the newcomer."

Chris Williamson takes my breath away

Karen Vaughan | Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY USA | 03/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had been holding onto my records in order to keep Chris Williamson's Changer and the Changed around. I was glad to find this so I could put it on my computer and Ipod digitally.(Mostly the same songs and less expensive!)"