Barbara Mandrell

• The Best of Barbara Mandrell [Columbia, 1977] C+
• The Best of Barbara Mandrell [ABC, 1979] C+

Consumer Guide Reviews:

The Best of Barbara Mandrell [Columbia, 1977]
These minor early-'70s hits aren't what her admirers consider the best (that's coming out right now on Dot), but they do foreshadow her concept, in which she applies her limpid center and soft edges to such soul classics as "Show Me" and "Do Right Woman" and then sells them to the country audience--by upping the tempos, oddly enough. Hard to figure what's so innovative--didn't that Presley guy do something similar? And when he went to Vegas, he went on his own terms. C+

The Best of Barbara Mandrell [ABC, 1979]
Barbara's real secret isn't that she's a country singer who listens to Shirley Brown. It's that she's a country singer who reads Helen Gurley Brown. C+