Listening to Bobbie Gentry... part 2

The Delta sweete (1968)

Side One

1."Okolona River Bottom Band" – 2:57

2."Big Boss Man" (Luther Dixon, Al Smith) – 2:56

3."Reunion" – 2:35

4."Parchman Farm" (Mose Allison) – 3:00

5."Mornin' Glory" – 2:57

6."Sermon" – 2:41

Side Two

1."Tobacco Road" (John D. Loudermilk) – 2:50

2."Penduli Pendulum" – 2:55

3."Jessye' Lisabeth" – 3:00

4."Refractions" – 2:20

5."Louisiana Man" (Doug Kershaw) – 2:35

6."Courtyard" – 2:58

The first of her three 1968 albums. This is the album she was trying to make with 'Ode to Billie Joe'. An incredibly ambitious work, musically, thematically and in the arrangements. It's nearer to Southern literature (your Faulkners etc) than any music I know. The quality of the groupplaying is exceptional and then the whole thing gains an extra layer of meaning through the strings and horns. The more I play this, the more I find in it. Sample some highlights on Youtube: 'Courtyard' is my favourite, but other songs like 'Mornin' glory', 'Jessye Lisabeth' and 'Refractions' are just as good and the cover songs are wonderful re-imaginings too.

Still, the album bombed. The single 'Louisiana man' crawled into the lower reaches of the charts and quickly disappeared. And with that, Gentry's period of carte blanche recording the music that she wanted to, ended. To be honest, you can see why it wasn't a succes. It's not remotely poppy. At times (the weakest parts of the album) it kind-a reminds you of stageshows ('Reunion', 'Sermon') which was not a hip thing, I guess. On those two songs, she falls short of her ambitions. She doesn't so much get into the skin of her characters ('Reunion' stages a familyreunion, 'Sermon' a sermon - obviously), as on my nerves. From then on the search for pop succes was on.