The Best Yet (Margo Smith album)

The Best Yet is a studio album by American country music artist Margo Smith. It was released in 1987 via Playback Records and originally contained a total of ten tracks. The album was mostly a collection of traditional pop standards and mixed in new songs as well. It would spawn a charting single 1988 and also receive positive reviews from critics.

The Best Yet
Studio album by
Released
  • 1987
  • 2013
Recorded1987
StudioLSI Studios
Genre
Label
Producer
  • Jack Gale
  • Jim Pierce
Margo Smith chronology
Margo Smith
(1986)
The Best Yet
(00000000)
Just the Beginning
(1991)
Singles from The Best Yet
  1. "Alone"
    Released: 1987
  2. "Echo Me"
    Released: 1988
  3. "Hold Me"
    Released: 1988

Background and content

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Margo Smith had her greatest commercial success as a country artist in the late 1970s, with major hits like "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You" and "Still a Woman." She later left her record label, Warner Bros. and began releasing music through independent companies during the 1980s.[3] Among these albums was The Best Yet. Smith recorded the project in 1987 at LSI Studios, alongside producers Jack Gale and Jim Pierce. The recording sessions for the record took place in Nashville, Tennessee.[4] The project contained ten tracks of new material. Seven of the songs selected were cover versions originally recorded in the traditional pop music genre by various artists.[1] Among the songs chosen was "You Belong to Me", "Love Letters in the Sand" and "Wheel of Fortune." Also included was three tracks of new material: "Alone", "I'm Only Fillin' In" and "Heart Times".[4]

Release and reception

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The Best Yet was released in 1987 on Playback Records. It was originally offered as a vinyl LP, containing five songs on either side of the record.[4] In later years, the album was re-released in a digital format via K-tel Records, containing "Echo Me" as a bonus track.[5] Billboard magazine originally gave the record a mixed review in 1987: "Her voice sounds a little strident at times, but Smith knows how to reach the heart of some of the great pop tunes that commanded the charts before rock 'n' roll rolled in."[1] The Best Yet originally spawned a total of two singles. Its first single was issued in 1987, "Alone".[6] In 1988, "Hold Me" was spawned as a single.[7] The 2013 re-working of the album included Smith's 1988 single, "Echo Me". In the single's original release, it peaked at number 77 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It is Smith's final-charting single on the country chart to date.[8]

Track listing

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Vinyl version

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Side two[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)"
  • Jimmy Hodges
  • Hugh Starr
2:43
2."Wheel of Fortune"2:36
3."Alone"Ray Griff2:38
4."I'm Only Fillin' In"not available2:34
5."Heart Times"not available3:06

Digital version

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The Best Yet (bonus track version)[5]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."It's a Sin to Tell a Lie"Billy Mayhew3:05
2."You Belong to Me"
  • King
  • Price
  • Stewart
2:53
3."Hold Me"
  • Little
  • Oppenheim
  • Schuster
2:37
4."Harbor Lights"Williams2:34
5."Love Letters in the Sand"
  • Kenny
  • Kenny
2:03
6."Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)"
  • Hodges
  • Starr
2:44
7."Wheel of Fortune"
  • Benjamin
  • Weiss
2:42
8."Alone"Griff2:41
9."I'm Only Fillin' In"not available2:36
10."Heart Times"not available3:05
Bonus track[5]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Echo Me"not available2:19

Release history

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Region Date Format Label Ref.
United States 1987 Vinyl Playback Records [4]
2013
  • Digital download
  • streaming
K-tel [5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "The Best Yet: Margo Smith: Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Album Reviews: Country: Recommended". Billboard. December 26, 1987. p. 90. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  3. ^ Brennan, Sandra. "Margo Smith: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Smith, Margo (1987). "The Best Yet (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". Playback Records. PL-13007.
  5. ^ a b c d "The Best Yet (bonus track version) by Margo Smith". Apple Music. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  6. ^ Smith, Margo (1987). ""Alone/"Alone"". Book Shop Records. BSR 45-763.
  7. ^ Smith, Margo (1988). ""Hold Me"/"Heart Times"". Playback Records. PL 1302.
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.