Hip-O Records
2006
The Definitive Collection
About This Album
Shelby Lynne started her career as a promising mainstream country singer and today she's a critically respected and genre-defying singer/songwriter; charting the trajectory of her career isn't a simple matter, and Lynne's installment in Hip-O's The Definitive Collection isn't entirely successful in doing so, though it's still an admirably thorough look at her work to date. The Definitive Collection starts out with five tunes from Lynne's years with Epic and Morgan Creek, and on these songs one can almost hear the strain as she struggles against the cookie-cutter production and cut-rate songwriting that Nashville was foisting upon her, though the strength of her voice and soulful touch of her phrasing still shines through. Seven of the ten songs from 2000's I Am Shelby Lynne follow, and the difference is like night and day -- not only is the production far more imaginative and sympathetic, but the songs (all written or co-written by Lynne) are smart, heartfelt, and personal in a way her previous work had never been. I Am Shelby Lynne is generally regarded as her best album, and these songs show why -- so much so that one is tempted to suggest that anyone who doesn't own it is better off getting that disc rather than this one.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,9,15 and 17)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.

 
report abuse