Bobbie Gentry

While this two-LPs-on-one-CD combo is more for serious Bobbie Gentry fans than those looking for the best or most representative one or two compilations of the artist, it's a worthwhile roundup of two of her more overlooked records. From 1971, Patchwork is by far the more artistically ambitious of the pair, as it consists entirely of original (and self-produced) material, whereas 1970s Fancy is mostly cover versions. Patchwork, oddly, ended up being the still-young singer/songwriter's final long-player, and found her Southern pop-country-folk-soul fusion going in a somewhat slicker, more orchestrated direction than her early work. That's part of the reason it's not one of the more impressive Gentry albums, another being that the songs don't rate among her very best, sometimes going off in unexpectedly bouncy or middle-of-the-road directions. Still, her singing remains fine, and some of the more serious and intimate songs ("Beverly," "Belinda," "Lookin' In," and "Marigolds and Tangerines") are fairly impressive. Fancy is an odd entry in her discography in that, though it features a self-penned title track, it's otherwise devoted entirely to outside material, recorded (à la several white blue-eyed soulstresses circa 1970) at Muscle Shoals. As such, it was never going to be among Gentry's more distinguished efforts. But that's not to say it's not enjoyable, mostly for her superb earthy singing on a varied assortment of tunes by authors ranging from Bacharach/David and James Taylor to Leon Russell and Laura Nyro. If it's not nearly as good as a best-of, this 22-track CD's nevertheless good value, also including historical liner notes. ~ Richie Unterberger`!­, All Music Guide