Wanda Jackson

One of the coolest women in rock history, Wanda Jackson came roaring out of Oklahoma City in the mid-'50s singing rockabilly, rock & roll, and hard country with a constricted, razor-sharp voice and a monster attitude. Capitol's Vintage Collections CD is the best single-disc overview of Jackson's most essential rockabilly and country recordings for Capitol from 1956 through 1961, surveying Jackson in a variety of modes, from full-throttle rock ( "Let's Have a Party," originally recorded by Elvis Presley and featured in the film Loving You) to rockabilly to traditional country (the weeper "Why I'm Walkin' " gets over via a vocal imbued with the profound sadness so characteristic of Patsy Cline's great tearjerkers). Recently Capitol has reissued Jackson's first two albums, 1958's Wanda Jackson and 1960's Rockin' With Wanda, both with bonus tracks not on the original vinyl release. The import bins carry a wealth of Wanda Jackson's Capitol recordings for those who want to go deeper into a fairly remarkable body of work; in 2003, Jackson mounted a well-received comeback with the spirited Heart Trouble. (DAVID MCGEE)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide