The Definitive Collection

• Artist: Brenda Lee
• Rating:
• Release Date: January 10, 2006
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Country

Review

Like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and only a few others, Brenda Lee could sound equally wonderful whether she was tearing into an upbeat rock & roll number or crooning a melancholy countrypolitan ballad. The fact that she demonstrated ample knowledge of both even before getting halfway through her teenage years made her achievements much more special. MCA's The Definitive Collection befits its title in one area: it's the definitive collection of her Billboard chart history, where most -- but not all -- of her artistic excellence occurred. The disc includes a full 28 tracks, but dispatches her early history as a rock firebrand with only three songs (when even ten wouldn't have been overdoing it), and moves quickly to her decade-long mastery of the forlorn, love-scorned ballad. It's a fact that most new listeners with a potential appreciation for Lee's talents would be drawn to her earlier rockabilly material, not her balladry, so this is a lost opportunity that some other collection will have to remedy. (In fact, the two-disc Anthology [1956-1980] proves that there's enough excellent Brenda Lee material to fill two discs.) ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Dynamite (Lyrics)	Mort Garson	Brenda Lee	(2:05)
Sweet Nothin's (Lyrics)	Ronnie Self	Brenda Lee	(2:25)
I'm Sorry (Lyrics)	Dub Albritton, Ronnie Self	Brenda Lee	(2:42)
That's All You Gotta Do (Lyrics)	Jerry Reed	Brenda Lee	(2:31)
I Want to Be Wanted (Per Tutta la Vita)	Giuseppe Spotti, Kim Gannon, Alberto Testa	Brenda Lee	(3:06)
Emotions (Lyrics)	Ramsey Kearney, Mel Tillis	Brenda Lee	(2:50)
I'm Learning About Love	Louis Innis, Grady Martin	Brenda Lee	(2:42)
You Can Depend on Me (Lyrics)	Louis Dunlap, Earl Hines	Brenda Lee	(3:34)
Dum Dum (Lyrics)	Sharon Sheeley, Jackie DeShannon	Brenda Lee	(2:28)
Fool #1	Kathryn R. Fulton	Brenda Lee	(2:29)
Anybody But Me (Lyrics)	Ronnie Self	Brenda Lee	(2:27)
Break It to Me Gently (Lyrics)	Joe Seneca	Brenda Lee	(2:40)
Everybody Loves Me But You (Lyrics)	Ronnie Self	Brenda Lee	(2:32)
Heart in Hand (Lyrics)	Sharon Sheeley, Jackie DeShannon	Brenda Lee	(2:30)
All Alone Am I	Manos Hadjidakis, Arthur Altman	Brenda Lee	(2:45)
Your Used to Be	Howard Greenfield, Jack Keller	Brenda Lee	(2:13)
Losing You (Lyrics)	Carl Sigman, Jean Marie Renard	Brenda Lee	(2:34)
My Whole World Is Falling Down (Lyrics)	Jerry Crutchfield	Brenda Lee	(1:57)
I Wonder (Lyrics)	Cecil Gant, Raymond Leveen	Brenda Lee	(3:00)
The Grass Is Greener	Mike Anthony, Barry Mann	Brenda Lee	(2:47)
As Usual	Alex Zanetis	Brenda Lee	(2:37)
Is It True? (Lyrics)	John Carter, Mickie Most	Brenda Lee	(2:28)
Too Many Rivers (Lyrics)	Harlan Howard	Brenda Lee	(2:51)
Coming on Strong	David Wilkins	Brenda Lee	(2:04)
Nobody Wins (Lyrics)	Kris Kristofferson	Brenda Lee	(3:02)
Big Four Poster Bed	Shel Silverstein	Brenda Lee	(4:38)
Tell Me What It's Like		Brenda Lee	(3:02)
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree [*]	Johnny Marks	Brenda Lee	(2:05)

Credits

Owen Bradley (Producer), Brenda Lee (Photo Courtesy), Ryan Null (Photo Coordination), Andy McKaie (Compilation Producer), Ron Chancey (Producer), Paul Cohen (A&R), Mickie Most (Producer), Brian Smith (Photography), Mike Fink (Design), Erick Labson (Digital Remastering), Mike Ragogna (Digital Imaging), Owen Bradley (Audio Production), Beth Stempel (Production Coordination), Ron Chancey (Audio Production), David Redfern (Photography), Adam Starr (Product Manager), Robert K. Oermann (Essay)