FRANKIE MILLER : ...THAT'S WHO! - THE COMPLETE CHRYSALIS RECORDINGS (1973-1980)

 

Disc One

  1. You Don't Need To Laugh
  2. I Can't Change It
  3. Candlelight Sonata In F Major
  4. Ann Eliza Jane
  5. It's All Over
  6. In No Resistance
  7. After All (Live My Life)
  8. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
  9. Mailbox
  10. I'm Ready
  11. High Life
  12. Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)
  13. Trouble
  14. A Fool
  15. Little Angel
  16. With You In Mind
  17. The Devil Gun
  18. I'll Take A Melody
  19. Just A Song
  20. Shoo Rah
  21. I'm Falling In Love Again
  22. With You In Mind

Disc Two

  1. Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)
  2. Trouble
  3. Little Angel
  4. With You In Mind
  5. I'll Take A Melody
  6. High Life
  7. Shoo Rah
  8. The Devil Gun
  9. A Fool
  10. I'm Falling In Love Again
  11. Just A Song
  12. A Fool In Love
  13. The Heartbreak
  14. The Rock
  15. I Know Why The Sun Don't Shine
  16. Hard On The Levee
  17. Ain't Got No Money
  18. All My Love To You
  19. I'm Old Enough
  20. Bridgeton
  21. Drunken Nights In The City

Disc Three

  1. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
  2. I'm Old Enough
  3. Be Good To Yourself
  4. The Doodle Song
  5. Jealous Guy
  6. Searching
  7. Love Letters
  8. Take Good Care Of Yourself
  9. Down The Honkytonk
  10. This Love Of Mine
  11. Let The Candlelight Shine
  12. (I'll Never) Live In Vain
  13. Have You Seen Me Lately Joan
  14. Double Heart Trouble
  15. The Train
  16. You'll Be In My Mind
  17. Good Time Love
  18. Love Waves
  19. (I Can't) Break Away
  20. Stubborn Kind Of Fellow
  21. Love Is All Around
  22. Goodnight Sweetheart

Disc Four

  1. When I'm Away From You
  2. Is This Love
  3. If I Can Love Somebody
  4. Darlin'
  5. And It's Your Love
  6. A Woman To Love
  7. Falling In Love With You
  8. Every Time A Teardrop Falls
  9. Papa Don't Know
  10. Good To See You
  11. Something About You
  12. Easy Money
  13. The Woman In You
  14. Why Don't You Spend The Night
  15. So Young, So Young
  16. Forget About Me
  17. Heartbreak Radio
  18. Cheap...Thrills
  19. No Chance
  20. Gimme Love
  21. Tears
  22. Sail Away

Label : Chrysalis

Release Date : May 2, 2011

Review (AllMusic) : Scottish whiskey-voiced vocalist Frankie Miller never made much of a splash in the States, despite, or perhaps because of, his fixation on American soul and R&B. Yanks have never been terribly appreciative of the music that originated in their homeland, which might have been a contributing factor to Miller's marginal popularity in the U.S. He was a fairly major star in the U.K., though, big enough for EMI to remaster, repackage, and reissue his catalog (at least for the titles on their Chrysalis imprint) into this generous four-disc box. They even include a few rare singles and, more importantly, the original mix of his second effort, High Life, along with the previously released one, expanding this set's total to eight albums from 1973 through 1980. Because he has recorded just a handful of platters since, and only one after his debilitating brain hemorrhage in 1994, this covers the bulk of his output and all of his best-known songs. The playing time of each runs over 75 minutes, yet there are songs missing that were included as extras reissued on the individually expanded editions by Eagle/Repertoire in 1994. Not including those cuts, most of them as good and some even better than the ones on the albums they were appended to, is a major miss for a compilation that implies completeness. Regardless, the spiffed-up audio is crisp and warm, and while some of the material is spotty, Miller's performance is consistently energized and enthusiastic. From the gritty pub rock of his Brinsley Schwarz-backed debut to the raw soul of the Allen Toussaint-assisted High Life to the harder-edged rock of The Rock and the somewhat slick Easy Money, there is a plethora of terrific material here. Miller is as impressive singing ballads as tough, Faces-styled rockers, which makes each release reverberate with an ebb and flow making even some of the filler - and make no mistake, there is a good-sized helping of that - worth hearing. Well-arranged horns and occasional strings help, and a wide variety of producers, some of whom aren't mentioned in the skimpy notes, all do well by Miller's substantial talents. The set is reasonably priced, which makes it a logical choice for those who want to explore Miller's talents more exhaustively than Capitol's excellent 1993, 19-cut collection allows. Unfortunately, the slapdash booklet with a few hastily thrown-together pictures and credits that are lodged under the translucent trays that hold the CDs is a huge disappointment. It's difficult to see who plays what and only the most basic information about each album is available. It follows suit with similarly poorly annotated sets in the 2010-2011 Chrysalis remaster series (Robin Trower, Tangerine Dream, Ten Years After), but because Miller is less well-known worldwide, it's more frustrating that EMI wouldn't have taken the same care they did with the remastered audio to provide more information. Still, for those looking to get a sense of what makes Miller such a respected musician by his peers and dedicated U.K. fan base, it's convenient to have the bulk of his finest music in one handy package.