The Mickey Newbury Collection collects the ten albums Mickey Newbury released on three labels between 1969 and 1981 on an eight disc set. The set was released and is available through Mountain Retreat, a label run by Newbury and later Newbury's family. While Newbury had an impressive reputation as an artist and songwriter, at the time of the set's release in 1998, these recordings had been out of print for years. The original master tapes were lost by the labels, and so the recordings on the collection are digital transfers from virgin vinyl copies. The packaging replicates the original album art. The collection includes the albums Looks Like Rain (1969), Frisco Mabel Joy (1971), Heaven Help The Child (1973), Live At Montezuma Hall (1973), I Came to Hear the Music (1974), and Lovers (1975) on individual discs, as well as Rusty Tracks (1977), and His Eye Is on the Sparrow (1978), The Sailor (1979) and After All These Years (1981) on two combined discs. Newbury created a remarkable body of work, and while he is often classified as a country artist, the breadth of his artistic reach includes blues, soul, folk, rock, and traditional styles. Newbury frequently includes suites such as "Wrote A Song A Song/Angeline," "The Sailor/Song of Sorrow/Let's Say Goodbye One More Time," and the epic, and oft-covered "An American Trilogy" which combines "Dixie," "Battle Hymn of the Republic," and "All My Trials," and includes production effects such as rain, wind chimes, and strings. Other highlights of the set include "San Francisco Mabel Joy," "Apples Dipped in Candy," "Wish I Was," "Cortelia Clark," "The Future's Not What It Used To Be," "Let's Have A Party," "She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye," "Sweet Memories."

Track listing

Disc One: Looks Like Rain

Disc Two: Frisco Mabel Joy

Disc Three: Heaven Help The Child

Disc Four: Live At Montezuma Hall

Disc Five: I Came to Hear the Music

Disc Six: Lovers

Disc Seven: Rusty Tracks/His Eye Is on the Sparrow

Disc Eight: The Sailor/After All These Years