1 	Dynamite 	
2 	Sweet Nothin's 	
3 	I'm Sorry 	
4 	That's All You Gotta Do 	
5 	I Want To Be Wanted 	
6 	Emotions 	
7 	I'm Learning About Love 	
8 	You Can Depend On Me 	
9 	Dum Dum 	
10 	Fool #1 	
11 	Anybody But Me 	
12 	Break It To Me Gently 	
13 	Everybody Loves Me But You 	
14 	Heart In Hand 	
15 	All Alone Am I 	
16 	Your Used To Be 	
17 	Losing You 	
18 	My Whole World Is Falling Down 	
19 	I Wonder 	
20 	The Grass Is Greener 	
21 	As Usual 	
22 	Is It True 	
23 	Too Many Rivers 	
24 	Coming On Strong 	
25 	Nobody Wins 	
26 	Big Four Poster Bed 	
27 	Tell Me What It's Like 	
28 	Bonus Track: Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and only a few others, Brenda Lee could sound equally wonderful whether she was tearing into an upbeat rock & roll number or crooning a melancholy countrypolitan ballad. The fact that she demonstrated ample knowledge of both even before getting halfway through her teenage years made her achievements much more special. MCA's The Definitive Collection befits its title in one area: it's the definitive collection of her Billboard chart history, where most -- but not all -- of her artistic excellence occurred. The disc includes a full 28 tracks, but dispatches her early history as a rock firebrand with only three songs (when even ten wouldn't have been overdoing it), and moves quickly to her decade-long mastery of the forlorn, love-scorned ballad. It's a fact that most new listeners with a potential appreciation for Lee's talents would be drawn to her earlier rockabilly material, not her balladry, so this is a lost opportunity that some other collection will have to remedy. (In fact, the two-disc Anthology [1956-1980] proves that there's enough excellent Brenda Lee material to fill two discs.) ---Joe Bush, Rovi

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01. Rock The Bop (1957)
02. Weep No More My Baby (1959)
03. (If I'm Dreaming) Just Let Me Dream (1960)
04. Crazy Talk (1960)
05. Speak To Me Pretty (1961)
06. Here Comes That Feeling (1962)          play
07. Ring-A-My-Phone (1958)
08. Love You Till I Die (1957)
09. Rock-A-Bye Baby Blues (1957)
10. Thanks A Lot (1964)
11. All Alone Am I (1962)
12. If You Love Me (Really Love Me) (1961)
13. I'm Sorry (1960)                             play
14. Georgia On My Mind (1961)
15. (I Left My Heart) In San Francisco (1963)
16. Your Used To Be (1962)
17. She'll Never Know (1962)
18. Coming On Strong (1966)
19. That's All You Gotta Do (1960)
20. Let's Jump The Broomstick (1958)
21. The Stroll (1959)
22. Kansas City (1961)
23. Bigelow 6-200 (1956)
24. Sweet Nuthin's (1959)
25. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree (1958)
+
A1 - Jambalaya (On The Bayou)
B1 - Bigelow 6-200

Brenda Lee began her career, aged just eleven, in 1956, but did not have a British hit until 1960. In total, she had twenty-two UK hits between 1960 and 1965 but she had many more than that in America. Generally, the British public seem to prefer her up-tempo rockers while the American public seem to prefer her ballads. I am an exception to the general rule, being a Brit who likes her ballads best, although I enjoy her rocking songs too.

While many classic tracks are missing (for example, I want to be wanted, Emotions, Break it to me gently), this is only a budget-priced album and it does contain all of Brenda's British top ten hits.

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1 	Emotions
2 	Just Another Lie
3 	If You Love Me (Really Love Me)
4 	Crazy Talk
5 	When I Fall In Love
6 	Around The World
7 	Swanee River Rock
8 	Will You Love Me Tomorrow
9 	I'm Learning About Love
10 	Georgia On My Mind
11 	Cry
12 	I'm In The Mood For Love

Personnel:

    Brenton Banks – strings
    Harold Bradley – guitar
    Howard Carpenter – strings
    Floyd Cramer – piano
    Dottie Dillard – background vocals
    Ray Edenton – guitar
    Buddy Emmons – steel guitar
    Buddy Harman – drums
    Lillian Hunt – strings
    Anita Kerr – background vocals
    Brenda Lee – lead vocals
    Grady Martin – guitar
    Bob Moore – bass
    Louis Nunley – background vocals
    Boots Randolph – saxophone
    Vernel Richardson – strings
    Bill Wright – background vocals

Brenda Lee's fourth album, Emotions, stayed with the approach she'd used on her previous LP, This Is...Brenda, mixing gorgeously produced Nashville orchestration with a bit of rock & roll and lush pop ballads. While it was the kind of record that could appeal to both kids and adults, it wasn't watered down, as the production on its own was pretty delightful to listen to, matched by the excellence of Lee's incredibly (for a teenager) mature vocals. "Emotions" was the big hit on the record, which also contained its B-side, "I'm Learning About Love," which made the Top 40 under its own steam. Nothing else on the album is too well known to listeners other than serious Lee fans. But there are some good ballads here, particularly "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)," which is nearly on par with her big hits in that style. While the rock covers (the Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind" and "Swanee River Rock") were more on the filler side, Lee still brought commitment to each and every one of her vocals. Also leaning toward the rock & roll side of things was a decent frisky number, "Crazy Talk," co-penned by Mel Tillis, who had a few of his tunes cut by rock & roll artists in his early years. ---Richie Unterberger, Rovi

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A1 	When My Dreamboat Comes Home 	2:11
A2 	I Want To Be Wanted 	3:00
A3 	Just A Little 	2:23
A4 	Pretend 	2:50
A5 	Love And Learn 	2:06
A6 	Teach Me Tonight 	2:58
B1 	Hallelujah I Love Him So 	2:20
B2 	Walkin' To New Orleans 	2:30
B3 	Blueberry Hill 	2:27
B4 	We Three (My Echo, My Shadow And Me) 	3:29
B5 	Build A Big Fence 	2:23
B6 	If I Didn't Care 	2:40

Brenda Lee - Vocals
Floyd Cramer – Piano
Grady Martin - Guitar
Bob Moore - Bass
Boots Randolph - Sax (Tenor)
The Anita Kerr Singers 
Bob Moore 	Bass

Brenda Lee's third album was significantly above the average for a pop/rock LP of the era. The orchestrated Nashville production was lush but tasteful, Lee's singing unfailingly committed, and the material pretty strong, even if there was nothing else on the album as strong as its big hit, "I Want to Be Wanted." The record did lean more toward pop than rock, but it was clearly not either Nashville country or straight adult pop, even if by this time in her career she was taking her shots at (and doing quite well with) standards like "Teach Me Tonight." The rock & roll side of her sound was represented by "Love and Learn" and covers of Ray Charles' "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" and Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill" and "Walking to New Orleans," though she really did better with the ballads. And some of the ballads here are among her stronger material that you won't find on typical Lee greatest-hits collections, à la "If I Didn't Care," "Pretend," and "We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)." It was certainly among the most commercially successful of her albums, reaching number four in the LP charts. --- Richie Unterberger, Rovi

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