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Classics contains nine of the best recordings from Loveless' first four Epic albums. Toe tappers like "You Can Feel Bad" and "I Try To Think About Elvis" are complemented by heartbreaking, stone-country ballads such as "Nothin' But The Wheel" and "You Don't Even Know Who I Am."

Most noteworthy are the all too realistic sleepover saga "Lonely Too Long" and the award-winning tearjerker "How Can I Help You To Say Goodbye." In lesser hands, the latter tune would have been insufferably maudlin. Loveless, however, infuses it with so much deep-felt emotion that it instead became a true classic - the ultimate country song dealing with loss.

Since Loveless's string of hit singles at Epic has been hefty, fans will undoubtably be disappointed that not all of their favorites were chosen for inclusion on this collection. "You Will," "She Drew A Broken Heart," and "To Have You Back Again" are just some of the omitted gems which would have easily made it onto most other artists' hit sets.

Though we don't get all of the hits, we do get a troika of great new Loveless recordings. "Can't Get Enough" finds Patty rockin' as she looks to get more out of life, while she gets sassy and aroused on the mid-tempo "I Just Wanna Be Loved By You." Best of all is "My Kind Of Woman, My Kind Of Man," the long awaited duet with Vince Gill. This ode of devotion is a simple but marvelous showcase for their heavenly harmonies.

There was a lot wrong with country music in the '90s. Classics is a great example of what was right. Run don't walk to your local record store and get it today!


Amazing!   December 28, 2003
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

This 1999 collection is a good place to start if you are curious about Patty Loveless. The new songs (Can't Get Enough, My Kind of Woman My Kind of Man, I Just Wanna Be Loved By You) are nice but feel out of place amongst these classic songs. Patty Loveless was a country artist who struggled in the early part of her career to find an audience, which ultimately led to her leaving MCA Records in 1992. Signed with Epic, she began to work with husband Emory Gordy Jr. and the result was something to be seen! This collection covers her career from her ONLY WHAT I FEEL album in 1993 to 1997's LONG STRETCH OF LONESOME. I think the highlights here are the ballads "You Don't Even Know Who I Am", "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye" and "Here I Am". These songs really touch your heart and tug at your heartstrings, just beautiful emotional songs. She sings about longing so well in "Lonely Too Long", which is another landmark ballad for her. She shows her fun side on songs like "Blame It On Your Heart", or "I Try To Think About Elvis". "You Can Feel Bad" is a great Matraca Berg song, a fun uptempo number. Overall a really strong collection, this is the place to start your Patty Loveless collection!


Classics-Bound to become a classic.   March 26, 1999
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Patty Loveless's Classics is a collection of nine radio hits and three new songs. I own all of Patty's four previous Epic releases, so I wondered if I should purchase her greatest hits collection. Know that I own it, I am definitely glad I bought it. The radio sensation "Can't Get Enough" is good and the duet with Vince Gill "My King of Woman, My Kind of Man" is also pleasing, but the real gem is the other previously unreleased song "I Just Wanna Be Loved By You". It reminds me again why Patty is one of the greatest voices in Nashville. A mature reality of the need for love, not glossy or overproduced like music often recorded for radio. I always thought I preferred Patty's unreleased album cuts over her radio singles, this collection proved me wrong. This encore of radio hits is so well arranged, I plan to buy another copy just to keep in my car. This album is definitely bound to become a classic in my personal collection. I highly recommend that you treat yourself to this album, you will not regret it.


A FLAWLESS CD   December 31, 2004
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Patty Loveless's work in the 80s and 90s was exceptional (It is a shame that she shifted to bluegrass (Maybe because she can't get any airplay on country stations? Which favors stuff like Faith Hill, who can't even carry Patty's microphone.).As for this CD, it is exceptional, you cannot get much better on a single disk than this (Maybe Toby Keith's Greatest Hits 2?). Songs like "I Think About Elvis", "Lonely Too Long", "Blame It On Your Heart". "Here I Am", and "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye?" (A real heartwrenching song, and this is from an alpha male), are country classics. And the rest of the CD does not have a weak song either. Patty Loveless blows away just about any other female country singer since Patsy Cline with the exception of Sherrie Austin (Another singer who cannot get airplay). There is beauty, humor, sadness, and most of all INTELLIGENCE in her music. Patty is country for people who love intelligent, well thought out, and original lyrics. I would highly recommend getting this CD, then go out an get her "Greatest Hits" CD for material such as "Timber" and "Chains" (That CD also gets 5 stars, but is a little weaker). Simply put this is a flawless CD.


"Classics": One of Patty's Best Releases!   January 9, 2002
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Patty Loveless has long been regarded as one of country music's most talented female singers and for a very good reason. She can pull off everything from bluegrass, traditional and contemporary with such ease. Her voice is rich in emotion and maturity and it's hard not to be drawn into what she sings. For almost two decades, Loveless has given country fans some of the biggest hits on the radio and this collection is ,in my opinion, the cream of the crop.

"Classics" is a greatest hits CD that boasts Patty's hits from 1993 to 1999. You get everything from up-beat ("Can't Get Enough") to heartbreaking ("How Can I Help You Say Goodbye") to the fun ("I Try To Think About Elvis"). There's also a couple of unforgettable duets on the CD: "You Don't Seem To Miss Me" with George Jones and "My Kind ff Woman, My Kind of Man" with Vince Gill. It's especially enjoyable to listen to Patty and Vince, who for years, have been backing each other up vocally (ie: "When I Call Your Name" and "Go Rest High On That Mountain"). "My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man" is a perfect example of two talents who are able to blend their voices together into a musical masterpiece. It's the duet us Gill/Loveless fans having been waiting for.

My favorite tracks on the CD are: "You Can Feel Bad" (a kick butt song about making the most of a breakup), "Here I Am" (about alcohol abuse), "You Don't Even Know Who I Am" (about a couple on the verge of splitting), and "Nothin' But The Wheel" (another driving away from a bad relationship song...!). It seems to me that Patty is at her best when she's singing a good breaking up song. She brings such emotion to them.

I've been a fan of Patty's from the beginning, but I have to say that her best music has come from the past decade and it's nice to see them all packaged on one CD. I've noticed that since I bought "Classic" I don't have as many Patty CD's laying around! It's one of the most listened to CD's in my house.

If you're a Patty Loveless fan and you're looking for her most recent hits, "Classics" is for you!

Gennie Bailey-Rogers