Search - Jody Miller :: Anthology

Queen of the house was also Queen of covers

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 04/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jody is remembered (if at all) for Queen of the house, a song set to the tune of Roger Miller's King of the road, which provides an excellent opening to this anthology. Although she occasionally had hits with original songs, most of her success was with country versions of pop hits. While this allowed her to make a career in country music, it means that subsequent generations of fans are less likely to concern themselves with her legacy. For that reason, I was surprised but overjoyed when this anthology was released.The best of Jody's exquisite covers to be found here include Look at mine (Petula Clark), He's so fine (Chiffons), Baby I'm yours (Barbara Lewis), Be my baby (Ronettes), To know him is to love him (Teddy bears), House of the rising son (traditional song - Jody's version is based on the famous Animals cover), Natural woman (Aretha Franklin) and Will you love me tomorrow (Shirelles).Among her original songs, my favorite is There's a party going on. What makes this particularly interesting is that Lynn Anderson, whose then-husband Glenn Sutton wrote the song, also recorded it (in her case, on her Listen to a country song album). It is therefore surprising that Jody's version rather than Lynn's was released as a single, but both versions are equally good.Country girl is a title that has been used for several completely different songs, but this one is the same song that appeared on Olivia Newton John's Long live love album, recorded at about the same time. Another original song, Let's go down to the river, is a duet with Johnny Paycheck.It is a miracle that this anthology ever appeared. Jody Miller did not change the course of country music history, but her music is very enjoyable."

Track Corrections

David Newland | dayton, oh USA | 01/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this is a great cd, but the site has not correctly given all the tracks that appear on the cd. no 21 and 22 are NOT as listed but as follows: 21. kiss away and 22. long black limousine. GREAT listening. one of the best of the 70s. enjoy"

A welcome reappearance...

Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 06/20/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With a career spanning the 60s and 70s and a substantial number of charted country and pop tunes, it's amazing that there's been virtually none of Jody Miller's music in print on CD. Bravo to Renaissance Records, the small indie in Tennessee for bringing this material into the digital age. This collection covers Miller's early pop material for Capital and more of her country-oriented work for Sony in the 70's. While some may berate her early work such as "Queen of the House", as pop trash, her treatment of the song reveals her skill with even less-than-admirable material. While there are 24 tunes here illustrating her ability to seamlessly handle pop, country and standards, there are a few notable omissions. One such missing track is Miller's pop-charting remake of the Springfield's "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" - a strange situation considering all of her other pop-charted tunes are included. The sound quality overall is excellent and all tunes are in stereo, however some tracks are in the "wide mono" sometimes used (for no good cause). The liner notes are a bit of a disappointment in that they consist mainly of ruminations about her personal life and are lacking in her musical history. With nothing else on the market, this piece is an excellent place to get acquainted with Miller's music or, if a previous fan, to get reaquainted with this talented singer."