Producer: Billy Sherrill.
Reissue producers: Dave Nives, Barry Feldman.
Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee from July-October 1967. Originally released on Epic (26353). Includes liner notes by Laura Cantrell.
Tammy Wynette came to virtually define the modern female country singer. She emerged in the mid-1960s, with a soulful, Patsy Cline-influenced voice and a sweetened, more produced variation of the classic honky-tonk sound. This set is a reissue of an album released January 1968, and it's a gem. Billy Sherrill's production suits Wynette's singing well: it's understated, it gives her singing plenty of room to soar. There's nice instrumental elements as well (the faraway-sounding pedal steel guitar on "It's My Way"), and just the right amount of "the pop touches" (plush strings, backing choruses). If you want to hear where Chely Wright, Reba McEntire and k.d. lang got their inspiration, check this out.