Golden Classics of

Bobbie Gentry | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 5, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collectables
• ASIN: B000000940
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,649 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Mississippi Delta

2. I Saw An Angel Die

3. Chickasaw County Child

4. Sunday Best

5. Niki Hoeky

6. Papa Won't You Let Me Go To Town With You

7. Bugs

8. Hurry Tuesday Child

9. Lazy Willie

10. Ode To Billie Joe

11. Louisiana Man

12. Okolona River Bottom Band

13. He Made A Woman Out Of Me

14. Fancy

15. Apartment 21

16. All I Have To Do Is Dream

17. Let It Be Me

18. Mornin' Glory

Editorial Reviews

Bobbie Gentry was the first country singer to win the Best New Artist Grammy Award. She won two more 1967 awards for her huge hit "Ode to Billie Joe." The mystery still remains. Why did Billie Joe McCallister jump off the Tallahatchie bridge? Listen to this fine collection of Gentry's greatest and try to figure it out.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent compilation from unique singer/songwriter, April 30, 2000

By 

J. Stearns (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Golden Classics of (Audio CD)

Curb's compilation of Bobbie Gentry's music is good (see "Greatest Hits"), but for a true representation of her work, "The Golden Classics of Bobbie Gentry" has all the right elements.

The first ten tracks are not all hits per se, but rather, is Gentry's full #1 album originally named after its #1 hit "Ode to Billie Joe." (Gentry's album was the only one to knock the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" off it's long 15 week run atop the Billboard 200). No doubt about it, most of the songs sound the same. Each tries to resemble to powerful affect of "Billie Joe." Some succeed, some do not. (The ones that do include "Chickisaw County Child" and "Bugs.")

However, this album is a classic to treasure not only because of its musical credibility (each song is an excellent effort and a prime example of Gentry's genre) , but because of its pop-culture appeal. "Billie Joe" (the song and the album) came out at the end of the 'summer of love' in 1967, marking the end of a historical period, but the beginning of a new one.

The last eight tracks are hits of Gentry's. Standout cuts include: "He Made A Woman Out of Me," "Fancy," and the best - "Apartment 21." Also included are three wonderful duets with Glen Campbell. "Morning Glory" remains their standout tune.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overlooked album and performer, January 2, 2001

By 

R. Riis "rriis" (NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Golden Classics of (Audio CD)

As the other reviewer noted, this is a compilation of the entire 1968 "Ode to Billie Joe" LP plus subsequent singles and three duets with Glen Campbell, with whom Gentry recorded an LP in 1969. The "Ode" LP (tracks 1-10) is of a piece : primarily acoustic, atmospheric, well-sung and well-picked (Bobbie Gentry was a pretty fair country guitarist) with splendid, subtle accompaniment (some strings, harmonica). The sound quality isn't bad and actually reveals some bad engineering on the original recordings (Gentry was too closely miked and you can hear her pop a few p's, etc.); this however does not detract from the enjoyment of this disc. I can do without the Glen Campbell duets, frankly; Campbell (whom I like) dominates and the arrangements are perfunctory. I would prefer a straight reissue of the "Ode to Billie Joe" LP with original artwork and perhaps some illuminating notes (there is a poor-sounding import available elsewhere on Disky), but this is nice enough for fans and the curious alike.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Collection From One of Music's Most Under-Rated, Most Mysterious Women, May 12, 2006

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Golden Classics of (Audio CD)

Born in 1944, Bobbie Gentry spent her Mississippi childhood in grinding poverty before moving to California--and in 1967 she came out of nowhere to knock The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" off the top of the music charts with a simply constructed yet very powerful ballad of love, loss, and mysterious death titled "Ode to Billy Joe."

The fact that the song was such a monster hit was in some ways unfortunate: in terms of commercial success Gentry was never able to top it, and although she released several albums, enjoyed several popular singles, made numerous television appearances, and eventually evolved into a notable Las Vegas headliner, casual listeners regarded her as a "one hit wonder." The truth, however, was quite different. Gentry created a memorable body of work that continues to influence singers and songwriters to this day.

THE GOLDEN CLASSICS doesn't encompass all of Gentry's work, not by a long shot, and it focuses primarily upon her earliest work--but it gives you a very good idea of what she did, and what she did was utterly unexpected. She fused folk, blues, country, and the occasional rock and roll flourish into a personal idiom, and her subject was the joys and sorrows and observations of a poor rural girl's life.

If her style and subjects were unique, so too was her voice, for it was a mix of contradictory elements, raw yet somehow silky, sexy yet oddly detached. Then and now, the result is utterly unique. "Ode To Billy Joe" remains the song for which Gentry is best recalled, but it is only one aspect of her work. She is also quite capable of creating "Bugs," a commentary on the insects that plague the Mississippi delta, both down-home and very sly. The collection is also interesting for its inclusion of Gentry's other major hit single, "Fancy," and a sampling of her duets recorded with Glenn Campbell.

In the late 1970s Gentry walked away from the spotlight, and while most believe she presently resides in Los Angeles she has so effectively disappeared that no one can be quite certain of where she is, much less of what interests she presently pursues. Whatever the case, she was a true original, and while the songs here could use a remaster THE GOLDEN CLASSICS is an excellent point at which to begin an exploration of her work.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer