Local gentry (1968)
Side one
1."Sweete Peony (Gentry) 2:26"
2."Casket Vignette (Gentry) 2:34"
3."Come Away Melinda (Fran Minkoff, Fred Hellerman) 3:21"
4."The Fool on the Hill (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) 3:44"
5."Papa's Medicine Show (Jamie Horton) 3:50"
6."Ace Insurance Man (Gentry) 3:33"
Side two
1."Recollection (Gentry) 2:10"
2."Sittin' Pretty (Gentry, Kelly Gordon) 3:19"
3."Eleanor Rigby (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) 2:27"
4."Peaceful (Kenny Rankin) 2:51"
5."Here, There and Everywhere (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) 2:28"
(This LP tracklisting is from Wikipedia. It's always sounded to me like 'Ace insurance man' is the beginning of side 2, but I could be wrong.)
Patchy. An uneasy mixture of her own originals which continue the line from the previous album, and covers from recordings with London sessioneers - three Beatles songs which veer dangerously close to supper club territory (of course Bobbie was no stranger to the supper club scene, but still).
This is not a great album. 'The fool on the hill' and 'Papa's medicine show' are the two worst recordings of her career and when you hear 'em back to back, it sure drags the album down. 'Here, there and everywhere' is better, but forgettable. The only Beatles cover I do quite enjoy is 'Eleanor Rigby'.
But it's a real shame for two reasons. First, there is some great stuff on the album. 'Casket vignette', 'Come away Melinda', 'Recollection'... for my money she actually betters 'The delta sweete' on these songs. She's still trading in wonderful story songs ('Casket vignette' about a mortuary saleswoman!), she's still radiating that sweet sensual thing, but the arrangements are less fussy, she's learned to put in exactly what the song needs. And as a result it's more immediate, more direct. She's still growing as an artist.
Second, the great 'What if' stories in pop... There's some 1968 recordings floating around that could easily have bettered the album. I've heard six 1968 recordings which didn't make the cut. 'Hushabye mountain' was a standalone single at the time, and is gorgeous, the singing is wonderful. 'Stormy' and 'Skip along Sam' are two outtakes which were finally released on the 'Ode...' comp. Of these 'Stormy' is worth looking out for, a slow whispered take on the song. Then there were two songs recorded for a V/A Christmas album, 'Scarlet ribbons' and 'Away in a manger'. Both are good, but 'Away...' is very Christmassy. 'Scarlet ribbons' on the other hand is a drop dead beautiful performance, which should have been on the album. Lastly, there was a Spanish language version of 'Here, there and everywhere' - another failed commercial move.
In conclusion, replace 'The fool on the hill', 'Papa's medicine show' and 'Here, there and everywhere' (would have made a good b-side) with 'Hushabye mountain', 'Stormy' and 'Scarlet ribbons' and this would have been some album.
1."Sweete Peony (Gentry) 2:26"
2."Casket Vignette (Gentry) 2:34"
3."Come Away Melinda (Fran Minkoff, Fred Hellerman) 3:21"
4."The Fool on the Hill (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) 3:44"
5."Papa's Medicine Show (Jamie Horton) 3:50"
6."Ace Insurance Man (Gentry) 3:33"
Side two
1."Recollection (Gentry) 2:10"
2."Sittin' Pretty (Gentry, Kelly Gordon) 3:19"
3."Eleanor Rigby (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) 2:27"
4."Peaceful (Kenny Rankin) 2:51"
5."Here, There and Everywhere (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) 2:28"
(This LP tracklisting is from Wikipedia. It's always sounded to me like 'Ace insurance man' is the beginning of side 2, but I could be wrong.)
Patchy. An uneasy mixture of her own originals which continue the line from the previous album, and covers from recordings with London sessioneers - three Beatles songs which veer dangerously close to supper club territory (of course Bobbie was no stranger to the supper club scene, but still).
This is not a great album. 'The fool on the hill' and 'Papa's medicine show' are the two worst recordings of her career and when you hear 'em back to back, it sure drags the album down. 'Here, there and everywhere' is better, but forgettable. The only Beatles cover I do quite enjoy is 'Eleanor Rigby'.
But it's a real shame for two reasons. First, there is some great stuff on the album. 'Casket vignette', 'Come away Melinda', 'Recollection'... for my money she actually betters 'The delta sweete' on these songs. She's still trading in wonderful story songs ('Casket vignette' about a mortuary saleswoman!), she's still radiating that sweet sensual thing, but the arrangements are less fussy, she's learned to put in exactly what the song needs. And as a result it's more immediate, more direct. She's still growing as an artist.
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