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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Country When Country Wasnt Cool, November 21, 2000
This review is from: Get to the Heart: My Story (Mass Market Paperback)
True fans of Barbara Mandrell have always felt like we've known her. She's sort of like the good friend whom we visit whenever possible or that distant relative who seems to have achieved just about everything but never flaunted it in our faces. Her autobiography does a good job of filling in whatever blanks were left for a woman who has spent most of her life in the public eye. However, unlike many celebrity tell-alls that rely on multiple marriages, rampant illicit sexuality, and boastful solipsism, Barbara's story revolves around her long-lasting marriage, devotion to family, and reverent Christianity. Country music aficionados will enjoy her tales of Nashville and the many intriguing anecdotes of Music City's other movers and shakers. These too lack the shock value or backstabbing glee that often oozes from celebrity biographies. A great deal of time is understandably dedicated to the Dudney family `s (Barbara and her two oldest children) involvement in a fatal accident. Tragically an innocent young man lost his life, and under a draconian Tennessee state law, they were forced to sue his family or forego every penny of the millions of dollars in insurance money they could otherwise receive. As of the book's publication, the painful litigation had not been resolved. Hopefully, the dire situation has since been rectified. Other highlights include tales of her early years on the road, the foray into television-- which forced a traditional family to live among the anything-goes Hollywood mentality, and numerous adventures that only world travelers get to enjoy. Yet it is the stories of family that make this work soar. Long before Barbara became a dutiful wife, she was and still is an admiring daughter. She plainly writes of her parents' shock upon finding an engagement ring in their 16-year-old daughter's room and how they forbid any contact between her now husband and their daughter for six months. Despite her pain, Barbara writes of her and then-fiancé Ken's unquestioning honor of her parents directive. Humorously she mentions how unfair she found their action but concedes that now as a mother, her response would be much more severe. Too many times reading a celebrity's autobiography can elicit a feeling like "what a jerk," but Barbara Mandrell proves herself to genuinely be the person her fans always hoped she was.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic from Barbara, May 21, 2009
Side 1 of this album opens with an energetic version of I'm a believer (the Neil Diamond song that the Monkees took to the top of the international pop charts) and continues with another upbeat song, Fast lanes and country roads. Two excellent ballads (I'd fall in love tonight, Don't look in my eyes) come next. Side 1 closes with an excellent cover of Angel in your arms.
Side 2 is equally impressive, opening with For your love. Brilliant as it is, the next track (If they grow tired of my music) is my favorite on the album. Given that Barbara's career had already been long and successful and knowing that she'd spent a long time in hospital recovering from an accident that could have killed her, I wonder what she was thinking in recording such a song. The radio stations eventually grew tired of Barbara's music, although she continued to have top ten hits on the country charts for a few years after this album was released. Following that outstanding track, there is another outstanding ballad (You only you). Side 2 closes with the title track, which features vocal support by the Oak Ridge Boys.
The radio stations long ago grew tired of Barbara's music but I didn't. She's one of the main reasons for my keeping a vinyl record collection and a turntable on which to play those records. The chances of getting all of Barbara's wonderful albums, including this one, released on CD seem as remote as ever.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A difficult read but well worth it, September 29, 2004
Let me say straight away that the reason I found this book a difficult read was simply because of the nature of the story. Half the book is about Barbara's life prior to the accident that almost killed her (and did kill somebody else unrelated and hitherto unknown to the family) and half is about her recovery from it. The recovery is sometimes a very difficult read and it may be for that reason that the book is not presented chronologically. Instead, chapters on the recovery alternate with chapters on the earlier years, so you could read about Barbara's life chronologically by reading alternate chapters.
Barbara's life was (and remains) in total contrast to so many celebrity lives. She was married to the same man throughout her career and was devoted to her family and her Christianity. No drugs, no extra-marital affairs, no hint of any kind of scandal. So although the early part of her life is of interest to her fans, of which I am one, the wider public is likely to be mainly interested in the accident and Barbara's recovery from it.
It seemed to me at the time (and subsequent events confirm it) that although Barbara made a full physical recovery - a miracle in itself - the mental scars never healed. She was less enthusiastic about her work than she had been. Perhaps this lack of enthusiasm explains why so little of her music from her peak years has ever been released on CD.
This book was in the American bestseller listings soon after publication. With Barbara's retirement from the music business, it seems that few people are interested in reading about her life any more (except her fans, who are likely to have a copy already) - this is a pity, because it's one of the more interesting country music biographies despite being a difficult read.
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