Patsy Cline - Playlist Your Way (2008)

Patsy Cline signed an unusually restrictive contract in 1955 with Bill McCall's 4 Star publishing company, a contract that gave McCall complete control over what songs she could record, and he only allowed her to track songs from 4 Star's publishing catalog. Few of 4 Star's songs rose above the average, and not even a voice and delivery like Cline's could do much with them. The more pop-oriented "Walkin' After Midnight," written by 4 Star staff writer Don Hecht, is the obvious exception, but as a rule, her 4 Star tracks sound muted, uninspired, and -- at best -- utterly ordinary. When the prohibitive contract expired in 1960 and Cline was free to choose her own material, her star rose rapidly, and her versions of songs like "I Fall to Pieces" and "Crazy" helped define the shift in country music to a more pop direction. This tight set has the best of both worlds, and includes the above songs plus other gems like "Sweet Dreams (Of You)," making it a decent and quick introduction to why Patsy Cline is, well, Patsy Cline.