This is great fun although it took me some time to warm up to Loretta Lynn - coming to her music unprepared and not aware of her legend, her lonesome wail struck me first as strident, specially in earliest recordings. Out of curiosity I have actually invested in this 3 CD box compilation and than I listened, wondering what was so special about her, slowly getting acquainted with her particular voice that had neither soulfulness of Patsy Cline nor fluffy girlishness of Dolly Parton, in fact at first I found her sound quite anonymous. But very soon I started enjoying her good-natured fun songs and clearly audible, likable down-home, unpretentious personality that shines trough.
Of course, in the meantime I have seen the movie about her life and read the autobiography that inspired it so now my perception of Lynn is quite different than at our initial introduction. I understand that for millions of her fans back in 1960s she was embodiment of real country gal, someone you might see daily in the neighbourhood and who would wink at you over her clothing line while she's hanging baby clothes to dry. That at certain point in mid-1960s ("Wine, Women And Song") she found her true voice as strong-willed, no-bullshit woman with her own point of view who would stand up to any guy (or other woman) on her path just added extra dimension to her allure and cemented her image as something of a role model for many. And she certainly had a knack for writing good songs as this compilation proves - "Happy Birthday", "You Ain't Woman Enough", "The Shoe Goes On The Other Foot Tonight", "Don't Come Home A'Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)", "Fist City", "Your Squaw Is On the Warpath" are where her legend was cemented forever and it seems that at certain point in 1960s/early 1970s she was quite unstoppable. Her versions of occasional pop hit were also irresistible ("These Boots Are Made For Walking", "Blueberry Hill") and if by this point you didn't warm up to her music, perhaps country is not for you at all.
Just as with Tammy Wynette, as compilation progresses material slowly becomes less inspired, overproduced and disc 3 slowly shows certain blandness reflecting either state of country music or simply lack of drive which is easy to understand when it comes to veteran musician who had passed her peak. Hits and collaborations continued long after this compilation but the real reason to get this CD box are Lynn's glory years when she forever changed the way female country singers were perceived and showed to the world that her humorous take on relationship could be very refreshing way of looking at things.
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