Patsy Cline: Sweet Dreams Still
November 2005 Reviewed by: Joseph Taylor Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

When musicians die young, it’s not unusual for their admirers to wonder what they might have done had they lived. I like to think that Patsy Cline would have recorded an LP of jazz standards at some point -- she could sing anything. But Robert K. Oermann, who hosts this collection of Cline’s television performances from 1955 through 1963, reminds us that what she liked to sing most was straight country. Oermann, a well-regarded country-music historian, informs us that Cline had to be convinced to record some of the songs that made her famous. Fortunately, her producer, Owen Bradley, was able to persuade her to show her full range of talents.

Sweet Dreams Still is essentially a video greatest hits, but Cline and the musicians who accompany her on this DVD were playing live for television, so there’s no lip synching (except on one of the bonus videos). The level of playing and Cline’s singing are consistently high, but what’s most enjoyable about these performances is how Cline and the musicians approach each song with freshness and vitality. My favorite example is a stunning blues-drenched version of "Walkin’ After Midnight" that she performed on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1957. Cline sings with genuine passion, and the guitarist for the performance plays some beautiful single-note lines behind her. (It might be Hank Garland, but the DVD doesn’t identify any of the musicians.) It was this performance that convinced Owen Bradley to produce her records.

Cline was such a versatile singer that the yodels on her version of "Lovesick Blues," a Hank Williams tune, are every bit as convincing as the blue notes on "Walkin’ After Midnight." Sweet Dreams Still documents a career that included deeply felt country singing and a high level of sophistication that Bradley felt was necessary to bring Cline to a larger audience. All the performances here are in black and white, and the video quality varies from poor (the Godfrey performance is washed out) to very good. The sound is surprisingly good considering the age and sources.

The producers of the DVD felt they had to put "PC" in script in the bottom left corner of the screen, and it’s irritating in the way that the ever-present network insignia is these days on television shows. I wish more information was provided about the original broadcast dates and the musicians who accompanied Cline. Oermann points out that during this time period, singers and musicians cut records live in studio and performed them for television in the same brave way. "People don’t do that anymore," he says. "People can’t do that anymore." The DVD adds some additional television appearances and a reminiscence by Cline’s husband, Charlie Dick. We can be thankful that these performances, which reveal new things about songs Clines fans already know so well, are now gathered together.

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