The Definitive Collection

Terri Clark was the subject of Greatest Hits 1994-2004. Definitive Collection is simply an attempt by Universal to get more of your hard-earned money, and it marks the third "best-of" Clark comp in just four years. This does have four more tracks than the Greatest Hits set, but that said, what it does include is not necessarily what you need. What it does contain is "She Didn't Have Time," from Life Goes On, one more track from Clark's self-titled debut album, an extra cut from Pain to Kill ("Three Mississippi"), and "The World Needs a Drink" from 20th Century Masters -- The Millennium Collection. This set even includes "One of the Guys" and "Girls Lie Too," which served as singles for the original greatest hits package! The best thing though, to prove how quickly and shoddily this was packaged, is the fact that the tracks from Pain to Kill are here listed as being from Pain to Tell. Is the music good, though? Yep. That said, if you are a fan, you already have virtually all of it anyway, so why not go to your favorite licensed online store and simply get the tracks you don't have instead of paying for all of this material all over again? The package is utterly disposable for fans; but not because of its subject, who is one of contemporary country music's finest and most consistent artists. It may be of interest to the few who do not know Clark's music, but more or less this feels like nothing more than greed on the part of her record company. ~ Thom Jurek