The Last Sessions (Patsy Cline album)

The Last Sessions
Compilation album by Patsy Cline
Released	1988
Recorded	February 4, 1963 — February 7, 1963[1]
Genre	Country
Length	66:27
Label	MCA
Producer	Owen Bradley
Patsy Cline chronology
Faded Love (1988) The Last Sessions (1988) Live at the Opry (1988)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

The Last Sessions is a compilation album by American country music artist, Patsy Cline. The album was released in 1988 under MCA Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. The album was a collection material Cline had recorded during her last recording sessions for Decca Records in early 1963.

Background[edit]

The album contains ten of twelve total tracks of material Cline had recorded between February 4–7, 1963, shortly before her death in a plane crash a month later. The album contained the major hit, "Sweet Dreams", which would peak at #4 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Songs chart and #44 on the Billboard Pop Chart after her death March 5, 1963. "He Called Me Baby" would also be issued as a single, peaking at #23 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1964. The Last Sessions primarily included a series of Pop standards from the 1940s and 1950s. Songs such as Irving Berlin's "Always" and Pat Boone's "Love Letters in the Sand" were recorded in February. Four country music standards are also featured, such as Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and Ray Price's "Crazy Arms."

The material was originally released along with B-sides and other previously-unreleased tracks across three posthumous studio albums The Patsy Cline Story (June, 1963), A Portrait of Patsy Cline (June, 1964) and That's How a Heartache Begins (Nov. 1964). The tracks on this release, save for Faded Love and I'll Sail My Ship Alone which were omitted, are presented in their original production order, as the album was never programmed as a cohesive unit as originally planned.

The album was remastered and was transferred digitally by Glenn Meadows, Milan Bogdan, Jim Loyd and Benny Quinn at Masterfonics.^[3] and is available on vinyl, cassette and CD,

The album was given three out of five stars by allmusic.^[4]

Track listing[edit]

Two tracks from the sessions - the first track recorded on February 4 (Faded Love) and the last track recorded on February 7 (I'll Sail My Ship Alone) do not appear in this compilation.

Personnel[edit]

Musical[edit]

• Harold Bradley — electric bass
• Owen Bradley — producer
• Patsy Cline — lead vocals
• Floyd Cramer — piano
• Ray Edenton — rhythm guitar
• Buddy Harman — drums
• Randy Hughes — rhythm guitar
• Joe Jenkins — acoustic bass
• The Jordanaires — background vocals
• Grady Martin — electric guitar
• Bill Pursell — vibraphone

Technical[edit]

• Milan Bogodan — remastering, tape preparation
• Jerry Joyner — design
• Simon Levy — art direction
• Jim Lloyd — remastering
• Michael Ochs — photography
• Jay Orr — liner notes
• Benny Quinn — remastering, tape preparation
• Don Roy — liner notes
• Virginia Team — art direction

References[edit]