Moments & Memories: The Best Of Reba

Reba McEntire may be a huge star in America, but she never achieved much commercial success in Britain. I first came across her music in 1980 when a radio presenter (probably Terry Wogan) promoted her then-current import album, Feel the fire. Despite such encouragement, Mercury didn't give the album a UK release; indeed, it was their policy not to release any country albums in Britain and that situation didn't change until they were absorbed into another label some years later. Still, I'd heard enough to take her music seriously and I added her to my list of import artists. Reba's move to MCA at least meant that some of her subsequent albums got a UK release, though they were never available for very long. MCA UK made it clear to Reba that in order to ensure consistent release of her albums, she'd have to put in some personal appearances.

Personally, I've never been a regular concert-goer so I don't care whether artists visit Britain or not, but a lot of people do and it's not a coincidence that the most popular country singers in Britain are those that have toured regularly. Reba first visited Britain on a brief promotional visit in the late eighties, prompting her cover of Cathy's clown to be released as a single. I hadn't been keeping track of things so the first I knew about it was when she turned up on a breakfast TV show to chat, concluding with the playing of the Cathy's clown video. But after that brief visit, Reba didn't return for another ten years. That second visit, as I recall, was longer, and was accompanied by the release of this compilation.

The first two tracks (Whoever's in New England, Little Rock) are the oldest tracks here, but only one other track (Walk on) is from the eighties. Sadly, Cathy's clown is not included - an odd decision, since it would have provided a reference point for those unfamiliar with Reba's original material. The only cover featured here is Fancy, but Bobby Gentry's original was not a UK hit, so only country fans would be familiar with the song. The remaining tracks were mainly taken from four albums, these being Rumor has it, For my broken heart, It's your call and Read my mind, though the album also includes Forever yours (from If you see him, an album that hadn't been released at the time of this compilation's release) and Does he love you, a duet with Linda Davis that never appeared on any original album. It was a huge country hit in America and was released as a UK single to promote this compilation, whereupon it gave Reba her only UK hit to date, though it didn't climb very high. Great as that duet is, the standout song here is She thinks his name was John, the song about a woman who contracted AIDS.

This was a welcome compilation in its day, though it might have been better if a few more tracks were included from the eighties (since British country fans prefer traditional country, and British pop fans probably weren't interested in Reba's music) and it would have also helped if a few familiar covers had been included (this latter problem was later addressed with the re-packaging of the covers album, Starting over, for UK release). As it is, this compilation doesn't contain anything that would inspire you to go looking for it now. You can find a lot of the music here on Reba's more recent - and still available - compilations including the double CD #1's and the triple CD. However, if you find this cheaply somewhere, it provides a nice collection of the best of Reba's music from the early nineties, plus three older tracks.

If you only want to buy one CD of Reba, this has to be the one. A great choice of songs, beautifully sung. The duet with Linda Davis is truly amazing. Some old favourites and some wonderful newer songs. Can anyone change "key" as effortlessly as Reba? Money well spent.

This has got to be Rebas best release thats why I gave it five stars. Reba is one of the best country singers. Every track on this CD is a gem. My favs are "Forever Love" and "I'd Rather Ride Around With You". This is excellent, buy it.