For those who know Barbara Mandrell only by her pop-oriented recordings of the late '70s and '80s, Super Hits may come as a welcome surprise. Compiling ten of her singles recorded for the Columbia label in the early '70s, Super Hits features two Top Ten country hits, including "The Midnight Oil" and seven other Top 40 entries. The second Top Ten entry, "Tonight My Baby's Coming Home," is a thoroughly enjoyable trucking song told from the perspective of the trucker's woman. Other selections are more rock-oriented, although even the otherwise straight-ahead rock track "Show Me" incorporates a fiddle breakdown. Billy Sherrill's production on these selections is glossy and firmly rooted in the '70s, and the disc is unfortunately brief, but Super Hits offers some of the best recordings Barbara Mandrell ever made. ~ Greg Adams
