Remembering Patsy Cline

1	I Fall to Pieces / Natalie Cole 5:29
2	Why Can't He Be You / Norah Jones 4:33
3	Back in Baby's Arms / Amy Grant 3:03
4	Crazy / Diana Krall 4:32
5	Strange / Michelle Branch 2:58
6	She's Got You / Lee Ann Womack 3:48
7	Leavin' on Your Mind / k.d. lang 4:53
8	Walkin' After Midnight / Terri Clark 3:38
9	You're Stronger Than Me / Rebecca Lynn Howard 5:19
10	Faded Love / Patty Griffin 3:39
11	So Wrong / Jessie Alexander 3:20
12	Sweet Dreams (Of You) / Martina McBride 2:32

Barnes & Noble

A tribute to Patsy Cline is a bit of an odd duck, since Cline wasn't a songwriter. So what Remembering Patsy Cline offers is interpretations of her own sublime interpretations, and this turns the disc into something of a tribute to the great songwriters behind Cline's most haunting recordings. On that score, the dozen female artists here do both the catalogue and Patsy proud. Terri Clark impresses with a swaggering, blues-inflected take on the Bob Hilliard–Milton DeLugg classic "Walkin' After Midnight," its arrangement dotted with acoustic guitar and organ punctuations that give way to fiddles and bristling electric guitars. Patty Griffin stays close to the classic amalgam of western swing and pop that producer Owen Bradley crafted for Cline in a heartrending version of Bob Wills's "Faded Love." Diana Krall employs a seductive near-whisper in retooling Willie Nelson's "Crazy" into a pop torch song, complete with discreet strings (an inadvertent homage to Cline's string arranger, Bob McElhiney?), woodwinds, and steadily shuffling brush work. Backed by a small combo and strings, Natalie Cole makes Harland Howard and Hank Cochran's enduring "I Fall to Pieces" a deliberate, touching heartbreak number, and Norah Jones reimagines "Why Can't He Be You" as a small combo–driven saloon song for the wee small hours. Jessie Alexander gives "So Wrong," Carl Perkins and Mel Tillis's wrenching blues ballad, a captivating honky-tonk arrangement and a gutsy, tear-stained vocal. In all, Patsy Cline's luminous, passionate singing is honored by a stellar cast that has surely found equal affection for the tunesmiths behind these towering songs. David McGee

All Music Guide

Considering the spotty nature of many tributes, Remembering Patsy Cline -- which duplicates her 12 Greatest Hits collection, although in a different running order -- is remarkably consistent. Subtle and classy like its subject, these dozen tracks -- all by female artists -- generally bring out the jazzier, torchier side of Cline's material. So it's not surprising that jazz-pop singers such as Natalie Cole ("I Fall to Pieces"), Norah Jones ("Why Can't He Be You"), and Diana Krall ("Crazy") successfully take their songs in that direction. Generally, these versions are respectful to the originals. But when they go too far astray such as on Martina McBride's a cappella "Sweet Dreams" with Take 6's schlocky, unnecessary background vocals or Rebecca Lynn Howard's overly lavish production of "You're Stronger Than Me," the album doesn't fare as well. The low-key approach of Patty Griffin ("Faded Love") and especially Jones, who both find Cline's nimble balance between country, pop, and blues, works best. The lush, piano-accompanied "Leavin' on Your Mind" from k.d. lang is languid and lovely, if a bit stilted. But tougher bluesy versions of "She's Got You" from Lee Ann Womack and Terri Clark's "Walkin After Midnight" nail these songs, resulting in a few of this album's gutsiest performances. Youngster Michelle Branch injects a slight country catch in her voice on a slick but tight version of "Strange." More upbeat interpretations of Cline's songs would help pick up the pace on the album's final half, which tends to drag. Still, even with its faults, this is a worthy project that Cline admirers, and certainly fans of the artists here, will find a worthwhile addition to their libraries. Hal Horowitz