It's a given that any collection by
Jennifer Warnes
with
"Right Time of the Night"
and her two legendary duets --
"Up Where We Belong"
Joe Cocker
and
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life"
Bill Medley
-- is worth a three-star rating. It's the other material that offers a deeper view of this truly enigmatic artist, but like most compilations that bear her name, it doesn't go deep enough. These 12 cuts come strictly from
Warnes
'
Arista
years from 1972-1979, with the
soundtrack
and best-of cuts from among other
BMG
-affiliated labels. There are three cuts from her self-titled debut for the label, four from
Shot Through the Heart
, one from the criminally underrated
The Hunter
, and one from her best-of, as well as the
cuts and one other --
"It Goes Like It Goes"
-- from the picture
Norma Rae
. While the aforementioned tracks are enough for most fans, her version of
Boudleaux Bryant
's
country
classic
"Love Hurts"
is devastatingly beautiful and is arguably a defining one. Her own
"I Know a Heartache When I See One"
is also here, as is her gorgeous read of the
Bacharach
/
David
"Don't Make Me Over,"
which comes close to topping the
Dionne Warwick
original.
' read of
Bob Dylan
"Sign on the Window"
may sound radically different from the
Dylan
Band
original version, but it is an honest and deeply moving song in her hands. Likewise is her gorgeous cover of
Jesse Winchester
"You Remember Me"
Mike Scott
's (of
the Waterboys
)
"The Whole of the Moon"
from
. Unfortunately, there is no single collection that defines
' considerable achievement (though
Love Lifts Us Up
from Australia's
Raven
label at least cross-licenses material) and none include material from her watershed
Famous Blue Raincoat
. This might be an OK investment for the money, but it still falls far short of the mark unless all you want is the most obvious material. ~ Thom Jurek