Bobbie Gentry - Patchwork/Fancy

I didn't like it...

I was disappointed. The audio quality is there so that's not an issue. The Bobbie Gentry I remember is the one who sang "Ode to Billy Joe" and it just ain't here. The first half of the CD is the album Patchwork. I listened and I couldn't get away from the vision of Bobbie Gentry in a long long gown with her hair rediculously way up singing impossibly child-like songs like they used to have on Lawrence Welk, the ones that made you want to either cringe and crawl under your chair or throw up. The other half of the CD is the album Fancy. The songs from the Fancy album are a bit closer to the Bobbie Gentry I remember and they also reveal a glimpse of the Bobbie Gentry I wish we all knew. I can hear that somewhere in there she could have cut loose like Tina Turner. Unfortunately, whoever produced her albums wouldn't go outside the role of female singers of that day and never dug deep enough to reveal her true talent. She was at her best when she was raw and gritty and performing her own compositions, not the crap they made her do. I would say, if you've got money to burn, fine, pay the 23 dollars, but otherwise, buy it used. April 10, 2008

Miss Bobbie Gentry....from the Shadows of My Mind

OK Boy and Girls,

What the hell happened to this AWESOME talent. Its not that I forgot about her; its that I was 3 and 4 years old in 1969-1970 that her Voice was Imprinted into my soul on San Francisco's KABL radio. The industry and her obviously parted ways. I think she is a maverick. I like to think of her as Roberta Gentry; Woman with the Golden Voice. I can not believe she went under the radar like she has...really unbelievable. She is a female Elvis. If Elvis is the father of rock, She is the Mother of Classic Easy Listening Music. This is an original Cajun Diva. She looks like a diva. She sounds like a diva. Maybe she's Christian now and doesn't want the limelight anymore. Since last week I cannot stop thinking about her, Glen Campell, the Witchita lineman and the Midnight Cowboy. The harmonica, the strings and the delta blues sent me into the Twilght Zone of music. This experience of Roberta Gentry is gold. It is similar to Led Zeppelin playing last month. Gold. Gold. Gold. Solid Gold.
February 5, 2008

Please Come Back, Ms. Bobbie...

Australia's Raven Records has done it again with another superbly presented 2 on 1 CD by the great Bobbie Gentry. Those who only know her through her big hits "Ode To Billie Joe" and "Fancy" owe it to themselves to get both of Raven's Bobbie Gentry 2 fers. I find it hard to believe that EMI has never seen fit to reissue Ms. Gentry's entire recorded output. This could of been achieved with a 4 CD set if they would do it. Her contribution to country and folk is much larger than many might think. For her own reasons she has more or less retired from performing, but I would love to see her do a new album. A few years ago, Sheryl Crow performed "Ode To Billie Joe" on a VH1 appearance and spoke of Ms. Gentry's influence on her. Sheryl Crow might be the one to coax her out of retirement. Marty Stuart recently produced a highly acclaimed album for Porter Wagoner. Jack White produced Loretta Lynn's last album which also received accolades. That's just a thought.

The first 12 tracks on this CD were composed and produced by Ms. Gentry and as the liner notes point out use the metaphor of the panels of fabric in a patchwork skirt to link the disparately themed songs together. The result is a masterfully designed record that is really too diverse to categorize as simply country. Each song segues in orchestral interludes composed by Ms. Gentry and arranged by four different arrangers. This album, unlike the album it is paired with, produced no hits singles, but is is an exquisite listening experience for anyone who likes records with an organic sound and originality. It is as good as any of the best albums released in the singer-songerwriter era that began around 1971 the year Patchwork was first issued.

1970's Fancy is a curious entry in Ms. Gentry's catalogue. The only original track is the title track, and it was her second biggest career hit. It was later a hit remake in the 80's by Reba McEntire. The rest of the album consists of well chosen covers of songs given her inimitable interpretation. Much the same as the late great Dusty Springfield, Ms. Gentry never disappoints. She scored a #1 hit in the UK with the Bacharach-David penned "I'll Never Fall In Love Again". The song that most reflects that the album was recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals is "He Made A Woman Out Of Me". This is sexy soul song that reminds one of the type of hits Aretha Franklin was recording around that time. It should have been a big hit. As an album Fancy is another winning entry in the catalogue of Bobbie Gentry whom I firmly believe should be not only the Country Music Hall of Fame, but the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well.
August 13, 2007

At Long Last, it is finallly here

Bobbie Gentry's Masterpiece, Patchwork, has been long, LONG overdue for a release on CD. One of the greatest overlooked albums of the seventies, Patchwork is an incredibly intriguing collection of short stories set to nearly every musical style one can think of, with unforgettable melodies, great arrangements and, of course, Gentry's distinctive vocals. Gentry's stories of the American South, like her previous landmark efforts, Ode to Billie Joe and the often covered Fancy, are nearly all gems of poetry, with fully-realized characters, surprise plot twists and deeply felt emotions. And a lot of humor thrown in as well, which makes this record great fun. Had she been a novelist instead of a songwriter, she could have been one of our country's greatest authors, and her stories would have made for some great films. I'm glad I was around long enough to hear this stunning work in such crystal clear sound. My worn, scratched LP of this can now be put to rest. As a bonus, we get the whole Fancy album as well, although it is mostly a collection of covers that contains only one Gentry original - the title cut, which has proven its status as an American classic in remake after remake. It is a great loss to us all that Bobbie Gentry no longer writes and records, but at least she left us this. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Raven for this wonderful gift. June 13, 2007

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