Chris Gaines - see Garth Brooks

Larry Gatlin And The Gatlin Brothers "16 Biggest Hits" (Sony, 2000)
A family harmony band that took the baritone-based Southern gospel/barbershop vocal style of the Statler Brothers and separated it from the nostalgic and novelty aspects of the Statlers, the Gatlins were very successful in the mid-1970s and early '80s, frequently cracking into the Top Ten, and scoring a trio of #1 hits. Many of their best songs are, indeed, quite irresistible... "Broken Lady," "All The Gold In California," "Take Me To Your Lovin' Place" and "Houston" are all fine examples of their sound, songs that remain as catchy today as when they first hit the charts... Originally a gospel trio, the group's fortunes intertwined closely with the solo career of songwriter and lead singer Larry Gatlin, who frequently leaned towards a softer, more romantic style... There's plenty of material in the Gatlin Brothers catalog that I don't care for, but the songs I do like are lots of fun. They're definitely worth checking out!

Larry Gatlin "Night Time Magic" (Sony, 1995)
Cheesy, yet sometimes clever, soft-pop country from the '70s. This collection includes Gatlin's big 1978 hit, "I Just Wish You Were Someone I Love," which is still a great anthemic novelty song. On the opposite end of the spectrum are sappy weepers like "I've Done Enough Dying Today" and "Help Me," wherein Larry croons mercilessly, in one of the most florid, flaccid styles imaginable. Countrypolitan connoisseurs might really dig this; folks looking for a good strong tune to sing along with may be a little less enthused.

Crystal Gayle "The Best Of Crystal Gayle" (Curb, 1993)
Think how scary it must have been to be Crystal Gayle... You're Loretta Lynn's kid sister, and in the mid-1970s ya emerge out of the lower rungs of the Country Top 40 to become a super-duper superstar in your own right, epitomizing the height of 70's pop-country cheesiness... Then, when you make a few sad little stabs at sounding country again (as heard here on songs like "Heart Mender" and "River Road"), you're brutally punished in the sales charts... This disc is an interesting collection, which hopscotches back and forth between her pre- and post-"Brown Eyes Blue" recordings, including a few less well-known tracks from the early '70s that show a slightly rootsier side to her work than we normally hear... In a sense -- a very limited sense -- I guess this could be considered her "true" country record... At any rate, it was thoughtfully assembled with an ear for material that Gayle's regular fan base might not know that well. The sci-fi-ish "We Must Believe In Magic," which closes off the disc, is a real disaster, though... But other that that, this disc has some interesting surprises.

Crystal Gayle "The Best Of Crystal Gayle" (Rhino, 2002)
The ultimate, horrible conclusion of the whole super-posh, pretentious torch song tendencies of the countrypolitan scene. Yeesh. If you've heard "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" (which, I hate to admit, I still sort of like, in a pit-of-my-stomach sick kinda way...) well, then you've heard the best she can do. The rest of her hits follow the same formula, but they aren't as good. I am horrified to find out how many of ther other songs I actually dimly recall hearing at one time or another. And they called this stuff "country"? Brrrrrrr. Scary.

Bobbie Gentry "Chickasaw County Child: The Artistry Of Bobbie Gentry" (Shout Factory, 2004)
Most folks know Southern songwriter Bobbie Gentry as the singer of the spooky 'Sixties hit, "Ode To Billie Joe," which soared to the top of the Pop charts in 1967, and went Top 20 on the Country charts. She had a few other Country hits, mostly duets with Glen Campbell, but her success came mainly as a pop stylist, and the success of her first single eluded her afterwards, in part because she was just so dynamically innovative and outside the box that her work defied easy categorization and promotion. This impressive 23-song collection will be a real eye-opener for folks unfamiliar with the rest of Gentry's career. The grand, sweeping, orchestrations and dense pop arrangements stand in contrast to her sultry, plainspoken, vocals, which often dip into bluesy soul-drenched phrasing. Gentry comes off a bit like Dusty Springfield on the magnificent Dusty In Memphis album, except that Gentry didn't just sing these songs -- the wrote all of them as well! It's an impressive body of work, consistently creative and outside of the well-defined boundaries of the rock, pop, soul and country traditions she draws on... This is a great collection, artistically rich and consistently engaging. Recommended!

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Hick Music Index

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