Remembering Patsy Cline Various Artists MCA, 2003     Buy it online Reviewed by Mark Gallo	Country music icon Patsy Cline died in an airplane crash on March 6, 1963. Had she survived, September 8th 2003 would have marked her 71st birthday. One can only surmise what might have been the ultimate course of her career. To commemorate her birthday, MCA records released a re-mastered version of 12 Greatest Hits on September 9. This is a collection that has reportedly sold more than 10 million copies and spent close to 780 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Country charts since its initial release in 1967. On that same date, the label released Remembering Patsy Cline, on which 12 contemporary female artists, bridging much of the pop music spectrum, from jazz to pop to country, replicate the songs on the hits package. The result is a fresh look at one of the most intriguing personalities in American music. The collection opens with an interesting version of "I Fall to Pieces," cast as a sultry R&B ballad in the hands of Natalie Cole. With superb accompaniment from guitarist Brent Mason, bassist Michael Rhodes, drummer Chad Cromwell, keyboardist Rob Mounsey and Paul Franklin on steel guitar, Cole injects the tune with a jazz-inflected tone that highlights the inherent soul of the piece. Grammy winner Norah Jones offers a pretty straight ahead, though compelling, reading on "Why Cant He Be You," while Amy Grant's "Back In Baby's Arms" may be the rendition of a Patsy tune that sounds most like Patsy. The variety here speaks to the universality of the music. Patsy Cline put a decidedly female spin on the tunes, even though they weren't necessarily always songs written from a woman's perspective. Its ironic that the dozen songs collected here were all written by men. Cline wasn't a songwriter. Rather, she was an interpreter of the highest caliber, which makes this interpretative look at her songbook the more fascinating. Diana Krall's version of the classic "Crazy" -- with her working group of John Clayton (bass), Jeff Hamilton (drums), Gray Sargent (guitar) and Krall's expressive piano -- is a beautiful tune that sounds freshly contemporary and new in spite of its road weariness. Michelle Branch, who sounds like she's listened to her share of Dolly Parton, offers a superb take on "Strange." Lee Ann Womack's interpretation of "She's Got You" stays true to the original chart. k.d. lang, who was frequently compared to Patsy Cline early in her career, was a natural for the project. One of her first albums was Absolute Torch & Twang, and it's nice to hear her revisit those roots, albeit with less of the twang. She sings an understated "Leavin' on Your Mind" with the power that listeners have come to expect from one of the great voices of our time. Terri Clark sings a wonderful version of the classic "Walkin' After Midnight." She says she had something of an obsession with Cline as a kid, a theme repeated in the liner notes. These are not random singers brought together for the project. Each of these women has a strong and obvious musical connection to Patsy Cline that is displayed throughout the album. Rebecca Lynn Howard, maybe the youngest participant on the project, offers an impressive reading on "You're Stronger Than Me," and Patty Griffin's "Faded Love" is beautifully rendered. Jessi Alexander sings "So Wrong" in a fashion close to the original. Martina McBride gives a wonderful rendition of "Sweet Dreams (Of You)" with the gospel-based Take 6 backing her up. These are not merely classic country songs. Indeed, many of the Patsy Cline songs that we fans speak of so fondly now, were not huge hits in her lifetime. These are not just the soundtrack of a faded time in America. These are classics of American music, part of the fabric of country, to be sure, but also woven into the universal musical landscape. They are also a glimpse into one of the great ballad singers of the last century. The dozen women who came to this project did Patsy Cline proud. Remembering Patsy Cline is a delight. | November 2003 Mark Gallo is a long-time freelance music journalist whose byline has appeared in over 30 publications in the past 25 years. He has also been a DJ, publicist and archivist/researcher. When not writing about music he is a social worker