Tanya Tucker - Tanya Tucker (1994/2019)

While Tanya Tucker is the subject of this four-CD retrospective, she should have her own complete Bear Family box. No woman has done more for the modern tradition in both its excellence and its excess than Tucker. There are few, with the exceptions of Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Dolly Parton, who can be credited with being a true singing "stylist." She embodies the true meaning of the term "country diva." The box compiled by Tucker and longtime producer Jerry Crutchfield begins with songs like her 1972 smash hit of Larry Collins' "Delta Dawn," originally recorded when she was still 13, and her follow-up singles "The Jamestown Ferry," "What's Your Mama's Name Child," Curly Putman's "Blood Red and Going Down," and the song that brought David Allan Coe to the attention of the country music establishment, "Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)." But there's a catch -- these are not the originals, but rather newly recorded versions made by Capitol for Greatest Hits Encore, an entire collection of these tracks. The rest of the set is comprised of Tucker's recordings for Capitol. There are 58 tracks of pure reckless, restless country soul. Here in that unmistakably throaty voice are "Strong Enough to Bend," "As Long as There's a Heartbeat," "Girls Like Me," "If Your Heart Ain't Busy Tonight," "The Thunder Rolls," and "We Don't Have to Do This." And most of what's here is very fine indeed, including the unreleased tracks, of which there are six, because Tucker gives 100 percent each time she records. But for a performer who has accomplished as much as she has, she deserves a far more accurate representation of her career than this one. Look out for Raven Records' two-fers instead.