Essential Ronnie Milsap

This two-disc set contains the original versions of 39 country hits that Ronnie Milsap recorded for RCA between 1974 and 1989. During that 15-year period, no one else hit the top of the charts as often as Milsap - or even came close. It's a testament to the diversity of his vocal and song-selecting talents.

Those diverse classics include pure pop ("Pure Love," "Smokey Mountain Rain"), polished honkytonkers ("Daydreams About Night Things," "I'm A Stand By My Woman Man,"), stone country weepers ("Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends," "Nobody Likes Sad Songs"), bluesy tributes ("What A Difference You've Made In My Life"), and adult contemporary fare ("It Was Almost Like A Song"). Toward the end of his hit-making tenure, Milsap dwelled on nostalgia with a successful remake of the `50s favorites "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby," as well as the vintage sounding "Lost In The Fifties Tonight." Milsap also proved to be an excellent collaborator, pairing up with Kenny Rogers on...Read more

Ronnie Milsap had 59 hits that reached the Top 40 of the Country charts between 1973 and 1993. Six of his hits also crossed over and hit the Top 40 of the Pop charts. This 2 CD set has forty of those hits, and is the most complete collection currently available. Unfortunately, the mastering of this set is not as good as the mastering of the single CD "Ultimate Ronnie Milsap". The "Ultimate" CD has better-defined bass and brighter highs--the "Essential" set is dull by comparison. If you need all forty songs, then "Essential" is truly that, but "Ultimate" is the better choice for the casual fan. For the true fanatic, get both.

This set of Ronnie's recordings is similar to the Virgin 40 #1's released a few years ago and I'd say the mastering of this set rivals the Virgin release. The difference here is this set is sequenced by style rather that chronology which keeps the music fresh. Ronnie's work with his post RCA association with Libery, Virgin, and Image are mentioned in the liner notes but sadly not one track from those projects is included on this set which would have made the whole thing a tad stronger and certainly more comprehensive; what is here however is a fine collection of his 70's and 80's radio staples and it's well worth the money.