[.ca] The Essential Tammy Wynette (Rm)

Sony Music NOT Doing Tammy's Catalog Justice...:
I continue to be amazed as to why Sony continues to hack the Wynette music legacy. Where are tunes like "I L-O-V-E Y-O-U" and "There Goes That Old Steel Guitar" and Jones duet "We Beleive In Each Other"!?! Is it a question of 'who owns the gold' (the Wynette family?) or is Sony just SO short-sighted that they can't get the QUEEN of County Music (REAL country music as far as I'm concerned, instead of these dolled up imitations we've got today) from the 60's/70's music catalog RIGHT. As good as the music is here, 3 stars, but that's not the point; this is soooooo disappointing to see the see the same line-up of songs on compilation after compilation. I grew up with this stuff, lived it to an extent, but vinyl records only last so long. This woman's LPs rank up there with anyone's - start doing it right for once, Sony. (There, I've said it...)

Not Enough:
The remastering is great, the photos but I'm sorry Sony didn't go all out. The lack of tunes is a grave injustice. Someone of Tammy's stature deserves more than one short disc of remastered tunes. Far from "essential".

GREAT MUSIC; NEWLY PUBLISHED PHOTOS EVEN BETTER:
Tammy's music is always enjoyable to listen too. Many of Tammy's huge hits are included in this collection. However, Sony needs to put 2 or 3 unreleased or 2 or 3 not-on-every-compilation release songs to give buyers a reason to buy the new cd. This time, however, Sony has tried a new approach---and one which I believe Tammy's fans will greatly appreciate. It included many never-before-published photographs of Tammy. Many appear to be alternate takes from photo shoots that have appeared on other albums. For example, the exquisite cover photo appears to be from the photo shoot used for her "We Sure Can Love Each Other Album." There's also a photo from the session used on her "Good Love and Heartbreak" album and one alternate take from the session from 1977-78 used for her publicity photos, her autobiography, "Stand By Your Man," and her "Womanhood" lp. There is also a newly-published photo of a fun-loving Tammy from around 1978. The liner notes written about Tammy are interesting but nothing new. If you enjoy Tammy's music and want to see lots of alternative photo takes (along with a few familiar ones), this is a great CD to add to your collection. Hopefully, an Essential Vol II will be released of Tammy's music.

• Apartment #9
• Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad
• My Elusive Dreams - David Houston, Tammy Wynette
• I Don't Wanna Play House
• D-I-V-O-R-C-E
• Stand by Your Man
• He Loves Me All the Way
• We Sure Can Love Each Other
• Take Me - George Jones, Tammy Wynette
• 'Til I Get It Right
• Bedtime Story
• Kids Say the Darndest Things
• Woman to Woman
• 'Til I Can Make It on My Own