The Woman I Am: Definitive Collection (CD - 2006)

Along with Melissa Manchester, Barbara Streisand, and a few others, Helen Reddy was one of the defining voices of women's soft pop in the 1970s. Her hit "I Am Woman" became an anthem, and her other major charters--"Delta Dawn" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him," among them--are memorable as well. There are plenty of other gems here among the 22 tracks that feature Reddy's mix of easy-going arrangements, breezy vocals, and strong sentiment. Well-selected and assembled, WOMAN I AM: THE DEFINITIVE HELEN REDDY is arguably the most comprehensive sampler of the artist's talents on the market.

Most people typically regard Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman" as the quintessential anthem for the women's liberation movement in America during the '70s. But sadly for mainstream audiences, Reddy is a '70s one-hit wonder; nothing could be further from the truth. This 22-track session, Woman I Am: Definitive Collection, serves to set the record straight with a comprehensive overview of her adult contemporary chart hits from her tenure at Capitol Records during the '70s. All of her most well-known hits are here including (of course) "I Am Woman," "I Don't Know How to Love Him," "Angie Baby," and "Delta Dawn," all of which cracked the Billboard Top Ten singles chart, but there are also minor hits and fan favorites which complement the collection of hits quite well. Complete with liner notes from Reddy herself, this is quite possibly the most comprehensive collection of her material that a casual fan could possibly ever need, and something which die-hard fans will enjoy having around, if only to have all of her most important works together in one volume. ~ Rob Theakston minimize