DEBORAH ALLEN - ANTHOLOGY

My reason for buying this little item is fairly obvious if you know your Prince history. Deborah Allen is a country singer who never really topped the charts. She developed enough of a following to garner a string of albums in 80's and she had some success as a songwriter. Janie Fricke, LeAnn Rimes, Tanya Tucker and Patty Loveless are some of the artists that have recorded her songs. Personally, I consider her a minor musical figure at best. Although she's been able to capitalize on the success she's had, Allen's never been what I would call a musical genius. I find the majority of her work mediocre. I actually feel kinda sorry for this review because I like her as a person. She seems nice. But if I'm to be honest in my critique I can't pull my punches just because she's a nice lady.

This disc usually sells on Ebay or Amazon anywhere from $26 to $60 dollars. I'm sure there's a few reasons for the demand for this record. First, most of Allen's earlier material never surfaced on compact disc. She had releases on Cassette and Vinyl, but when the change to compact disc occurred, Allen's material wasn't re-released. In addition, her 1987 album "Telepathy" didn't rate a compact disc version even though that year was the first year CD became the standard format. For many Allen fans, this is a chance to have a digital copy of so many of her songs. The other reason I suspect this album commands such a high price is the inclusion of 'Telepathy'. Although the version released here is an edit of the full length album version, it's the only place you can find the track in any form on CD. Most of the competition I've seen for this CD happens between Prince fans rather than Allen fans.

The disc starts off with three tracks recut by Allen as a duet between herself and the late Jim Reeves. The songs are ok. The most interesting aspect of the tracks is that they are more in the vein of 1960's popular music, but they sound right at home with popular country at the time. It seems country is becoming more and more like rock and roll as time goes by.

Even though she has good ideas now and again, the majority of Allen's material is run of the mill. There's not a lot going on here that isn't happening on 50 kazillion other songs. I used to have a friend who wanted to be a famous song writer. He recorded a couple of CDs and used to talk about how interesting he thought he was as a lyricist. He would go on and on about his ideas and yet none of it was anything I hadn't heard a million times before. I couldn't point it out to him because he just didn't want to hear it. He was totally convinced of his own genius. Sadly, I think that's what's happening with Allen. She doesn't develop unique ideas or offer anything music lovers haven't heard a thousand times before. 'Telepathy' is the one exception on this record and is easily the stand out track.

If you're a casual country music fan, you can certainly find better songs. And better singers. Allen has a strong voice, and there is a lilting quality to her sound, but her delivery is always so technical and attempting to deliver a flawless performance that you don't get a great deal of soul or emotion. In my opinion, she doesn't have the chops to handle the leading spot. Of course I've never seen her perform live. It makes it hard to judge her true quality. In the end, however pricey this disc is, it's true value is best determined by Prince fans rather than country music or Allen fans. You're not going to find this disc circulating at an affordable price and it's hardly worth the effort unless you're specifically looking for the material on it. My final words: TREAT IT LIKE VINYL AND SKIP IT.

DEBORAH ALLEN - ANTHOLOGY
01. Don't Let Me Cross Over
02. Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
03. Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me
04. Nobody's Fool
05. You (Make Me Wonder Why)
06. You Look Like The One I Love
07. After Tonight
08. Baby I Lied
09. I've Been Wrong Before
10. I Hurt For You
11. Heartache And A Half
12. Let Me Be The First
13. I Can't Stand It
14. Rockin' Little Christmas
15. Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby
16. Telepathy
17. Undeniable
18. Rock Me (In The Cradle Of Love)
19. If You're Not Gonna Love Me
20. Break These Chains
21. Cheat The Night