Tracy Nelson - The Soul Sessions (2010)

The phrase, "Best of Rounder Records" which appears on the cover of this CD, is a misnomer, since these tracks are not, strictly speaking, from Ms. Nelson's Rounder Records sessions, which took place between 1993 and 1999. Rather, they are from her two Flying Fish albums, Homemade Songs (1978) and Come See About Me (1980) which Rounder happens to own the rights to. Nor are they necessarily the tracks that some fans would pick from those two albums, although I dare say that, in the eyes of her fans and many critics also, Tracy Nelson never recorded a bad track in her life, and I count myself among her most ardent admirers. Both albums are available on a single combo CD, also from Flying Fish (Rounder) but if you happen to just want to try Ms. Nelson out, well, you can't go wrong with just about anything she's ever released. As it stands, she is a tragically overlooked singer (in proportion to her talent), and although she has thousands of fans, she deserves millions more.

Not that any of that really matters. What matters is that this CD represents a bargain introduction to Ms. Nelson's incredible voice, which many of the uninitiated might not chance upon, if left only the option of some of her higher-priced albums. Depending on how you count, this is the 25th release in her long career, but only the second compilation album to be released under her name. A close friend and fellow fan recently mused that the release of this compilation may mean the withdrawal of the Homemade Songs/Come See About Me combo CD. I certainly hope not, for that would be a real shame.(James Morris)