Believe it or not, this was the only album to bump Sgt. Pepper from the its fifteen week Top 200 run. I've always been fascinated by Bobbie Gentry's voice, so worn, and experienced sounding. I was floored when I finally saw a picture of her...I did not expect someone as young and attractive to have sported that husky velveted voice. I must have been about seven years old the first time I heard Ode To Billie Joe, the song. Growing up in the 80's in Mississippi there was an oldies radio show called Tunes Till Two that my parents used to put on while doing yard work etc. My folks pointed out that Billie Joe was a story song. I loved it from the first time I heard it. However, it didn't get played a lot, at least not when I was listening to the radio. So I waited eagerly, and got ecstatic when it came back on. Like so many, I wondered where the story came from, and what was being thrown off that bridge. The older I got, and the more into music, I started to appreciate this album for more than that one song, for instance, Jimmie Haskell's incredibly evocative swampy string arrangements. Oh! They are so good. To this day this album still carries all the mystery and depth that it always had without giving anything away. Marvelous!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.