Search - Patty Loveless :: Honky Tonk Angel

Her best CD ever

Daniel Jolley | 12/29/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All the songs are winners, with "Don't Toss Us Away" being the best country song of all time."

The album that really got her career going

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 02/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I became a fan of Patty's from her very first album, but it was this (third) album that established her as a serious contender in country music. The album is filled with excellent songs, demonstrating Patty's ability to sing ballads and up-tempo songs equally effectively. Already revered in the music business on the strength of her first two albums, Patty was able to secure the services of Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell and bluegrass singer Claire Lynch as backing vocalists on this album, with Vince appearing on five tracks. The overall style is typical of the late eighties - more country sounding that Patty's recordings of the mid-nineties but more pop sounding than Mountain soul.The album yielded several country hits including Chains, Don't toss us away and Timber I'm fall falling in love. Blue side of town opens the album in great style. Although the title may suggest a sad ballad, it is in fact an up-tempo song about solving problems by have a few drinks. Next comes another upbeat song, I won't gamble with your love, followed by a couple of excellent ballads, Go on and If you think. The remainder of the album is made up of the big hits plus several more wonderful songs.If you enjoy country music of the late eighties, you should enjoy this album."

This Honky Tonk Angel doesn't forget her country roots

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 06/01/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At times throughout the years, I have had brief flirtations with modern-day country music, and on these infrequent occasions I have been drawn to those singers who have a discernible trace of old-school country in them. Patty Loveless is one such artist, a female vocalist with the twang and the bluegrass type of sound my nascent country tastes require. Sure, you've got your electric guitar and drums here too, but the good old fiddle and mandolin make their presence known quite strongly in a number of tracks. I have another connection of sorts with Patty Loveless; while I have never met her, she was at one time a waitress in my home town. I think I discovered her when she performed Timber I'm Falling in Love on Hee Haw, and that song is one of those catchy, upbeat songs that stay in your head for quite awhile. Chains was another hit song of the same ilk, and I Won't Gamble With Your Love makes a strong play for best song on the album. Of course, any country singer has to do a few moaning songs about the sadder things in life, and Loveless proves herself more than capable of singing slow, melancholy ballads full of real feeling. Blue Side of Town and The Lonely Side of Love are nice tracks, but If You Think, Don't Toss Us Away, and I'm On Your Side really distinguish themselves as maudlin ballads of great merit. Many country fans might be interested in knowing that Vince Gill, before he was a superstar, lent strong backup vocals to five of the songs on this album. I haven't followed country music or Patty Loveless at all in the years since this album was released in 1988, but Honky Tonk Angel certainly stands as one of the more impressive female country albums released during the late 1980s."