Experience the Divine: Greatest Hits (CD - 1993)

Personnel includes: Bette Midler (vocals); Michael Landau, Dickie Frank, Buzzy Feiten, Danny Weiss (guitar); Gene Orloff, Emanuel Green (violin); Selwart Clarke (viola); Kermit Moore (cello); Elizabeth Kane (harp); Phil Bodner (clarinet); Norton Buffalo (harmonica, trombone, background vocals); Jerry Jumonville (saxophone); Mark Underwood, Miles Krasner (trumpet); Marc "Caz" Macino (horns); Barry Manilow, Bernie Layton, Marc Shaiman (piano); Robbie Buchanan (keyboards); Michael Federal (bass, background vocals); Neil Stubenhaus, Ron Carter, Francisco Centeno (bass); Ray Lucas, Carlos Vega, Grady Tate, Buddy Williams (drums); Ralph McDonald, Joseph Mero (percussion); Cissy Houston, Melissa Manchester (background vocals).

Producers includes: Arif Mardin, Barry Manilow, Geoffrey Haslam, Ahmet Ertegun, Chuck Plotkin.

Compilation producers: Arif Mardin & Bette Midler.

Digitally remastered by Doug Sax (The Mastering Lab).

Collecting all of Midler's biggest hits and trademark songs from throughout her career on one disc, Experience the Divine is Midler's strongest album and the best introduction to her brassy, show-stopping style. ~ All Music Guide

Placing the raw beginning of her career (beautifully represented by the stark resignation of "Hello in There") against the brassy persona she has since cultivated ("Miss Otis Regrets") against the overblown A/C cuts that have been her biggest hits ("From a Distance," "Wind Beneath My Wings"), Bette Midler shows on this album why she is a legend and not just a popular recording artist. Being able to raise those enormously popular ballads from muck simply by rising above the production with her expressive, sterling vocals, thus making bland material classy, is one thing. But pulling off the coarseness of "When a Man Loves a Woman" as well as the sultry "Do You Wanna Dance?" in practically the same breath, while never overstating the steadfast certainty of "The Rose," shows range that most pop "stars" can't even spell. Despite that, giving listeners an overview of a 30-year career with more good material than hit singles would be difficult in any case, and some of the choices for this album seem almost arbitrary, considering the single "Beast of Burden" from No Frills and classic cuts like "Come Back Jimmy Dean" from the same album and the wrenching "Superstar" from her stellar debut, The Divine Miss M, are missing. On the plus side, Experience the Divine includes "One for my Baby (And One More for the Road)," which Midler performed as the chosen final guest of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Atlantic did a sound job of culling from her repertoire, and this album represents all that most casual fans would need to get an understanding of the vocalist beyond her hit singles, but, as with any true artist, to truly experience the Divine, you would need to check out each of her albums to find all of the gems. ~ Bryan Buss

A well-chosen best-of collection that covers Bette Midler's career up to 1993, EXPERIENCE THE DIVINE hits all the familiar high points. Yes, "The Rose" and "Wind Beneath My Wings" are here--along with longtime favorites like her sultry version of the old 1960s dance hit "Do You Wanna Dance?" and her theatrical take on Tom Waits's "Shiver Me Timbers." Midler's true genius--a quality that only her biggest fans have noticed over the years--is the way that she's casually, almost surreptitiously, updated the Great American Songbook, showing how familiar pre-rock standards, including "One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)" and Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets" fit seamlessly next to songs like the girl-group classic "Chapel of Love" and John Prine's "Hello in There." EXPERIENCE THE DIVINE might feel cursory to devoted fans, but for casual listeners, this disc--along with perhaps her still-exciting debut, THE DIVINE MISS M--is definitive. minimize