Search - Skeeter Davis, Jan Howard, Jeannie Seely :: Grand Ladies of the Opry

These Legendary Ladies Still Sing Great!!

"Tee" | LA | 03/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Four Grand Ole Opry "divas" together in one package!! Although recorded long after the apex of their careers as 1960s/70s hit makers, they sound as great as ever. I was a little dissappointed that they didn't pitch in and sing background vocals for each other's tracks but the productions are first-rate. (I also find the billing on the CD a bit curious because it's neither alphabetical or in ranking order of who had the biggest careers). Jean Shepard, by far the "countriest" of the four stars (she yodels on two of her four tracks), sings three of her biggest hits (including the classics "A Satisfied Mind" and "Slippin' Away") and a song called "Chime Bells", which features considerable yodeling. Shepard buffs will love that track but others might feel a more conventional country song would have fit in this collection better. Jeannie Seely sings four of her hits including Grammy winner "Don't Touch Me" and her 'comeback' hit "Can I Sleep in Your Arms". All four Seely tracks are bluesy-flavored ballad country; I would have liked to have heard one of her uptempo performances on this disc or at least a hit with a different style, such as "Lucky Ladies". Skeeter Davis sings four of her hits including one of country's most legendary songs, "The End of the World"; her voice seems astonishingly young here and she was well into her 60's!!! Jan Howard, one of the finest singers ever, sings three hits and a new song, "Memories for Sale" that I didn't care for that much. I would have loved to have her one of her classics from the past like "Love is Like a Spinning Wheel" instead. These small criticisms aside, these four ladies remain in extraordinarily fine voice and it's nice to see some women stars from country music's past get a bit of acknowledgement and not just Kitty, Patsy, Loretta, and Tammy."