Consumer Guide Album

Anne Murray: Greatest Hits [Capitol, 1980]
Following "Snowbird" with "Danny's Song" with "A Love Song" with "You Won't See Me," the first side is all any curiosity-seeker need own or even know of the singing gym teacher from Nova Scotia. Only a boho bigot could deny these middle-American apotheoses; they bridge cultures as resolutely as C.P. Snow. They also show off Brian Ahern's Nashville country-rock, with Jim Ed Norman's side-closing "You Needed Me" improved by the association. Second side's all Norman, and though most of it is equally tuneful and confident, it's complacent calculation is why we need boho bigotry. All told, as neat a demonstration of aesthetic principle as Metal Machine Music. B+