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It's easy to see why hardcore country listeners expressed nothing but disdain for Sylvia during her hitmaking peak in the early '80s. At a time when country music already trending toward light, sweet pop music, Sylvia's records were the aural equivalent of cotton candy, so light they nearly floated in the air. Add her good looks to the equation, and she seemed like a model marketed as country to the legions of country purists. And they did have a point, since Sylvia's music was only marginally country. There was a bit of twang here and there, some traditionally country themes and song structures, but it was sugar-coated and polished to a gloss, fitting in better aurally with the soft rock of the time instead of even the country-pop. All this is evident on her 16-track installment of BMG Heritage's RCA Country Legends series. What makes this series interesting is that it doesn't use the Billboard charts as the sole guideline for compilation; instead, it takes the biggest hits and expands them with album cuts, B-sides, and rarities intended to draw a clearer picture of the artist's depth as a country artist. Usually, this has produced some very interesting, revealing collections, but it's an approach that's kind of odd for Sylvia, since her entire career only makes sense in terms of the charts, and this comes up short on hits. Of the 16 tracks, only six were hits, leaving 12 charting hits behind, including big ones like "Fallin' In Love," "Snapshot," "Sweet Yesterday," and "Like Nothing Ever Happened." For a chart-oriented artist, that's a lot of missing material, but RCA Country Legends still works -- and, in fact, functions as a nice counterpoint to Renaissance's comprehensive 1997 hits package Anthology -- because it's sequenced well, contains the biggest and best hits, while digging up a few choice cuts like "Cry Baby Cry," "No News Is Good News," "Tonight I'm Gettin' Friendly With the Blues," and "Eyes Like Mine" that prove that Sylvia did depth outside of the charts. That said, RCA Country Legends won't change any minds about her musical attributes -- this is still very soft country-pop, and even condensed to a collection, there are a few duff moments here and there -- but for those that like Sylvia or early-'80s soft rock, this is quite enjoyable and nearly as an effective an introduction to her as the hit-laden Anthology
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Rhonda Kye Fleming, Composer - Rhonda Kye Fleming, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Tom Collins, Producer - Dennis W. Morgan, Composer - Dennis W. Morgan, Lyricist
(P) 1980 Sony Music Entertainment
D. Bergen White, Arranger - Kye Fleming, Composer - Kye Fleming, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Tom Collins, Producer - Dennis W. Morgan, Composer - Dennis W. Morgan, Lyricist - Shelly Kurland Strings, Strings
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment
Rhonda Kye Fleming, Composer - Rhonda Kye Fleming, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Tom Collins, Producer - Dennis W. Morgan, Composer - Dennis W. Morgan, Lyricist
(P) 1981 Sony Music Entertainment
Don Pfrimmer, Composer - Don Pfrimmer, Lyricist - Gary Harrison, Composer - Gary Harrison, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Tom Collins, Producer
(P) 1980 BMG Music
Gary Harrison, Composer - Gary Harrison, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Kent Robbins, Composer - Kent Robbins, Lyricist - Tom Collins, Producer
(P) 1980 BMG Music
Don Pfrimmer, Composer - Don Pfrimmer, Lyricist - Archie Jordan, Composer - Archie Jordan, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Tom Collins, Producer
(P) 1981 Sony Music Entertainment
Sylvia, Performer - W.T. Davidson, Composer - W.T. Davidson, Lyricist - Tom Collins, Producer
(P) 1983 Sony Music Entertainment
Rhonda Fleming, Composer - Rhonda Fleming, Lyricist - Karen R. Charlton, Composer - Karen R. Charlton, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Tom Collins, Producer - Dennis W. Morgan, Composer - Dennis W. Morgan, Lyricist
(P) 1983 Sony Music Entertainment.
Brent Maher, Producer - Sylvia, Performer - Madeline Stone, Composer - Madeline Stone, Lyricist - Holly Dunn, Composer - Holly Dunn, Lyricist
(P) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment
Brent Maher, Producer - Sylvia, Performer - Gary Burr, Composer - Gary Burr, Lyricist
(P) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment
Don Potter, Producer - Brent Maher, Producer - Sylvia Rutledge, Composer - Sylvia Rutledge, Lyricist - Tom Rutledge, Composer - Tom Rutledge, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Verlon Thompson, Composer - Verlon Thompson, Lyricist
(P) 1986 BMG Music
Don Potter, Producer - Brent Maher, Producer - Rhonda Fleming, Composer - Rhonda Fleming, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Verlon Thompson, Composer - Verlon Thompson, Lyricist
(P) 1987 BMG Music
D. Bergen White, Arranger - Don Pfrimmer, Composer - Don Pfrimmer, Lyricist - Mike Reid, Composer - Mike Reid, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Tom Collins, Producer
(P) 1983 Sony Music Entertainment.
Rhonda Fleming, Composer - Rhonda Fleming, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Tom Collins, Producer - Dennis W. Morgan, Composer - Dennis W. Morgan, Lyricist
(P) 1983 Sony Music Entertainment.
Brent Maher, Producer - Bobby Heatlie, Composer - Bobby Heatlie, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer
(P) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment
Rhonda Fleming, Composer - Rhonda Fleming, Lyricist - Sylvia, Performer - Tom Collins, Producer - Dennis W. Morgan, Composer - Dennis W. Morgan, Lyricist
(P) 1983 Sony Music Entertainment.
Album review
It's easy to see why hardcore country listeners expressed nothing but disdain for Sylvia during her hitmaking peak in the early '80s. At a time when country music already trending toward light, sweet pop music, Sylvia's records were the aural equivalent of cotton candy, so light they nearly floated in the air. Add her good looks to the equation, and she seemed like a model marketed as country to the legions of country purists. And they did have a point, since Sylvia's music was only marginally country. There was a bit of twang here and there, some traditionally country themes and song structures, but it was sugar-coated and polished to a gloss, fitting in better aurally with the soft rock of the time instead of even the country-pop. All this is evident on her 16-track installment of BMG Heritage's RCA Country Legends series. What makes this series interesting is that it doesn't use the Billboard charts as the sole guideline for compilation; instead, it takes the biggest hits and expands them with album cuts, B-sides, and rarities intended to draw a clearer picture of the artist's depth as a country artist. Usually, this has produced some very interesting, revealing collections, but it's an approach that's kind of odd for Sylvia, since her entire career only makes sense in terms of the charts, and this comes up short on hits. Of the 16 tracks, only six were hits, leaving 12 charting hits behind, including big ones like "Fallin' In Love," "Snapshot," "Sweet Yesterday," and "Like Nothing Ever Happened." For a chart-oriented artist, that's a lot of missing material, but RCA Country Legends still works -- and, in fact, functions as a nice counterpoint to Renaissance's comprehensive 1997 hits package Anthology -- because it's sequenced well, contains the biggest and best hits, while digging up a few choice cuts like "Cry Baby Cry," "No News Is Good News," "Tonight I'm Gettin' Friendly With the Blues," and "Eyes Like Mine" that prove that Sylvia did depth outside of the charts. That said, RCA Country Legends won't change any minds about her musical attributes -- this is still very soft country-pop, and even condensed to a collection, there are a few duff moments here and there -- but for those that like Sylvia or early-'80s soft rock, this is quite enjoyable and nearly as an effective an introduction to her as the hit-laden Anthology
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 00:51:23
- Main artists: Sylvia
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: RLG - BMG Heritage
- Genre: Country
(P) 2002 BMG Heritage
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