COUNTRY SOUL SISTERS VOLUME 2: WOMEN IN COUNTRY MUSIC 1956-1979.

dereksmusicblog ♦ June 1, 2013 ♦ Leave a comment

COUNTRY SOUL SISTERS VOLUME 2: WOMEN IN COUNTRY MUSIC 1956-1979.

Last October, when I reviewed the Soul Jazz Records compilation Country Soul Sisters: Women In Country Music 1952-1974, I wondered whether it would convert me into a fan of country music? Sadly, that wasn’t the case. Its persuasive powers and that of the Country Soul Sisters came up short, to say the least. This was no Damascan conversion. I wasn’t suddenly about to forsake my beloved Philly Soul for country music. No sirree. It was no stetson and cowboy boots for me. Much as I wanted to fall for the charms of the Country Soul Sisters it didn’t happen. However, when I saw the followup to Country Soul Sisters was due out, I decided to give country music a second chance. So, when Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979, was released on 27th May 2013, I picked up a copy, and wondered whether the Country Soul Sisters would transform me into a fan of country music? 

Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 features twenty-four tracks from some of the biggest names in country music. Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, Kitty Wells, Lynn Anderson, Bobbte Gentry, Linda Ronstadt and Jeannie C. Riley. There’s also contributions from the Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson and ahem Cher. Just like Country Soul Sisters, some artists feature more than once. No wonder. They’re some of the most successful female artists in the history of country music. Among the twenty-four songs on Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 are a fusion of familiar tracks and hidden gems. Even if you’ve only a passing interest in country music, you’ll be familiar with a number of the songs. You’ll certainly be familiar with many of the Country Soul Sisters that feature on Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979, which I’ll pick the highlights of.

Jeannie C. Riley’s Little Town Square opens Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979. This is a track from her 1968 debut album Harper Valley P.T.A., which was released on Plantation Records. Her other contribution is The Rib, a track from her 1969 album Things Go Better With Love. It was also released on Plantation Records. They’re very different tracks. The Rib has an understated arrangement, which allows you to focus on Jeannie’s heartfelt vocal. Little Town Square has a fuller, much more uptempo arrangement. Steel guitars accompany Jeannie’s emotive vocal. Combining pride, power and anger, she reminisces at how hard her mother had to work to feed and clothe her family. Her vocal grows in power, as her anger is directed at the people who shunned her mother. 

Linda Martell’s recording career may have only lasted less than a decade, but she played an important part in the history of country music. She was the first African-American woman to appear at the Grand Ole Opry in 1969. This lead to her signing to Plantation Records. Her 1970, single, Color Me Father, a track from her album Color Me Country, reached the top thirty in the US Billboard 100. No wonder. Quite simply, it’s a gloriously soulful slice of country music. So good is this track, that it might make a believer out of me.

Probably, the best known female country singer is Dolly Parton. Despite her popularity, she divides opinion within country music circles. One thing you can’t deny is the longevity and popularity she’s enjoyed. Dolly has two tracks on Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979. The Bargain Store, which was the title-track to her 1975 album, is her first contribution. Jolene which was released as a single in 1974, is the best of the two. Not only was Jolene the title-track to her 1974 album, released on RCA Victor, but is a stonewall country classic.

Tammy Wynette is another country music’s best known singers. Her contribution to Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 is Baby, Come Home, a track from her 1971 album We Sure Can Love Each Other. Quite simply, this is one of the best tracks on the compilation. Cooing harmonies and steel guitars accompany Tammy’s needy, heartbroken and deeply soulful vocal. Her delivery is peerless. The way she pauses, before delivering the lyric: “come on home,” gets across her heartache and loneliness.

Jody Miller’s recording spans two decades. During this time, she released six albums, three of them for Epic. Her Epic “debut” was 1971s He’s So Fine, which feature’s Don’t Throw Your Love To The Wind. Three years later, in 1974, she released House Of The Rising Sun. It featured a cover of Natural Woman. Her delivery is impassioned, heartfelt and sincere. With steel guitars and harmonies, Jody delivers a joyous emotive vocal, which is one of the finest cover version of Natural Woman you’ll hear.

While most people remember Bobbie Gentry for Ode To Billie Jo, there’s much more to her career than one track. Proof of this is Okolona River Bottom Band, a track from her hugely underrated 1968 album The Delta Sweete. With an arrangement that fuses jazz, blue, funk and country music, Bobbie delivers a sassy, sultry vocal. So good is this track that not only does it stop you in your tracks, but will have you hunting down a copy of The Delta Sweete.

Back in 1969, Linda Ronstadt covered Bob Dylan’s You’ve Been On My Mind for her Hand Sown…Home Grown album. The song is transformed. Linda’s vocal is melancholy and wistful, while a piano adds to the drama and a Thom Bell style horn reinforces the regret and melancholia in her vocal. 

Barbara Mandrell is another artist who has two tracks on Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979. Her first contribution is I Never Said I Love You, from her 1976 album Midnight Angel, which features a vocal where emotion, sincerity and passion become one. The other track is (If Loving You Is Wrong), I Don’t Want To Be Right goes badly wrong. It was released as a single in 1978, and featured on her album Moods. Sadly, this the worst cover version of this track I’ve heard. It’s a real musical car crash. Much of this is down to the increase in tempo and Barbara’s jaunty delivery. This is one track that compilation could’ve done without. 

Come On In featured on Patsy Cline’s 1967 album Patsy Cline. Personally, I don’t think I’d accept the invitation to Come On In to where Patsy was in 1967. After all,  she’d been dead for four years. So was she releasing albums from the “other side?” Obviously not. Often in the sixties, an artist had recorded more material than they’d released. So, if they died unexpectedly, there was plenty material for numerous albums. Sometimes, the quality is somewhat suspect. Not here. As Patsy delivers the song with a swing, it’s a poignant reminder of one of country music’s greats.

My final choice from Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 is a track from Lynn Anderson. Two of her tracks feature on the compilation. The first is Stay There ‘Til I Get There, the title-track from her 1970 album. It’s a decent song, but not great. Much better is Lynn’s heartfelt delivery of If I Can’t Be Your Woman, which features on her 1972 album Listen To A Country Song. That seems to be a fitting way to close Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979.

So, the big question is, did Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 convert me to country music? Not quite. I’d still describe myself as an agnostic when it comes to country music. That’s despite the efforts of some of the biggest names in country music. These singers were pioneers and innovators. They weren’t afraid to sing songs about subjects that previously, had been deemed off-limits for female singers. Not any more. Society had changed, and so had attitudes. Now nothing was off-limits. This means Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 features some songs filled with social comment. Other songs tell the story of relationships and everyday life. Veering between joyous and celebratory, to tales of woe and heartbreak, they paint the picture of American life during three decades. This is what makes much of the music on Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 so captivating and enthralling. It’s music about ordinary people and the lives they lead.

Not only was the music on Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 captivating and enthralling, but it was always emotive.  While I’ve not been converted to country music, I did enjoy much of the music on Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979. Indeed, I’d go as far as saying that Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 is a much better compilation than its predecessor Country Soul Sisters. Here, quality country music outnumbers the faux pax and the filler. Having said that, there are a couple tracks I wouldn’t have included. That’s putting it kindly. I mean, why oh why were Cher’s Chastity Song and Barbara Mandrell’s (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right included? Conversely, there were a few surprises on Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979. Among them are hidden gems like Linda Martell’s  Color Me Father, Bobbie Gentry’s Okolona River Bottom Band and Jody Miller’s Natural Woman. They’re among the highlights of Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979.  

The final thing about Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 I must mention is the sleeve-notes. In-depth, informative and lovingly compiled, this is what I’ve come to expect from Soul Jazz Records. If only the sleeve-notes on all compilations were as good as Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979? Thankfully, the music is of Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 is nearly of a similar quality. Apart from a couple of faux pax, Country Soul Sisters Volume 2: Women In Country Music 1956-1979 is a compelling compilation of country music, which may just rejuvenate interest in country music. Standout Tracks: Jeannie C. Riley Little Town Square, Linda Martell Color Me Father, Jody Miller Natural Woman and Bobbie Gentry Okolona River Bottom Band.

COUNTRY SOUL SISTERS VOLUME 2: WOMEN IN COUNTRY MUSIC 1956-1979.