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Mornin' Glory: Bobbie Gentry's "The Delta Sweete" Gets Remixed, Remastered, and Expanded Treatment

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Bobbie Gentry The Delta Sweete

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It was the third of June/Another sleepy, dusty Delta day...

With a new announcement, this June 3 has gotten a lot less sleepy.  Bobbie Gentry's 1967 debut album Ode to Billie Joe established the Mississippi native as a crossover country superstar. Boasting the Grammy-winning, chart-topping title track, the LP made it to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Pop and Country charts and even reached the top five of the R&B survey. One year later, Gentry delivered her second album on Capitol. While The Delta Sweete didn't reach the commercial heights of its predecessor, it's arguably become even more beloved and influential over the years. (The band Mercury Rev even covered it in its entirety last year on Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited.) The ambitious, dreamlike concept album hauntingly chronicled life in the American South weaving original musical remembrances of the artist's childhood with songs that could have emanated from a southern radio station in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Melding country, pop, blues, soul, folk, and psychedelia, The Delta Sweete was - and remains - an album unlike any other. Today, it was announced that UMC (U.K.) will unveil a deluxe, expanded reissue on July 31, available in 2-CD and 2-LP formats.

The centerpiece of the reissue is a beautiful, new 2020 stereo mix (from the original four- and eight-track masters) by Andrew Batt, producer of the Grammy Award-nominated 2019 box set The Girl from Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters. It's joined on the first disc of the 2-CD set by five bonus tracks. The alternate take of "Mississippi Delta" (originally intended to close the LP), the band version of "Seventh Son," and the demo of "Feelin' Good" have all been retained from The Girl from Chickasaw County.  Bobbie's original demo of "The Way I Do" and an instrumental version of the album's first single, "Okolona River Bottom Band," are previously unreleased and make their debut here. The latter features Shorty Rogers on bass trumpet; the accomplished jazz bandleader and arranger for Bobby Darin, Peggy Lee, Michael Nesmith, and so many others joined the returning Jimmie Haskell to provide the striking charts for The Delta Sweete. While Capitol's Kelly Gordon is credited as producer, the album's distinctive sound was largely created by Gentry herself. The singer-songwriter played guitar, piano, banjo, bass, and vibes. Such Wrecking Crew veterans as Hal Blaine and James Burton contributed to bring the arrangements to life.

The second disc of the set boasts the CD premiere of the original 1968 mono mix plus a further five demos ("Mornin' Glory," "Sermon," "Jessye' Lisabeth," "Refractions," and "Louisiana Man") first issued on the box set. (The box's Delta Sweete disc also contains a demo of "Courtyard" plus two tracks not on the original LP, "I Didn't Know" and "Morning to Midnight.")

The vinyl version of The Delta Sweete presents the new 2020 stereo mix on the first LP and a selection of ten bonus tracks on the second LP including both of the previously unreleased tracks. The demo of "The Way I Do" is streaming now and can be heard here:

The Deluxe Edition of The Delta Sweete will be available on CD and vinyl wherever good music is sold; Universal's uDiscover Music store will also be offering an exclusive, double-sided lithograph as part of a bundle with the release.

Though Bobbie Gentry may have stepped back from public life decades ago, her extraordinary music is happily back in the spotlight. This deluxe edition of The Delta Sweete will no doubt continue to burnish her legacy. It's due from UMC on July 31.  You can peruse the track listing and place pre-orders (some links are still not yet active) at the links below.

Bobbie Gentry, The Delta Sweete (Capitol T/ST 2842, 1968 - reissued Capitol/UMC, 2020)

2-CD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

  1. "Okolona River Bottom Band" (Remastered 2020) 2:58
  2. "Big Boss Man" (Remastered 2020) 2:59
  3. "Reunion" (Remastered 2020) 2:39
  4. "Parchman Farm" (Remastered 2020) 3:11
  5. "Mornin' Glory" (Remastered 2020) 3:08
  6. "Sermon" (Remastered 2020) 2:34
  7. "Tobacco Road" (Remastered 2020) 2:51
  8. "Penduli Pendulum" (Remastered 2020) 1:55
  9. "Jessye' Lisabeth" (Remastered 2020) 3:07
  10. "Refractions" (Remastered 2020) 2:21
  11. "Louisiana Man" (Remastered 2020) 2:42
  12. "Courtyard" (Remastered 2020) 2:56
  13. "Okolona River Bottom Band" (Instrumental) 2:42
  14. "Mississippi Delta" (Alternate Take) 3:06
  15. "Seventh Son" (Band Version) 2:53
  16. "The Way I Do" (Demo) 3:36
  17. "Feelin' Good" (Demo) 3:21

CD 2

  1. "Okolona River Bottom Band" (Original Mono Mix) 2:56
  2. "Big Boss Man" (Original Mono Mix) 3:00
  3. "Reunion" (Original Mono Mix) 2:38
  4. "Parchman Farm" (Original Mono Mix) 3:11
  5. "Mornin' Glory" (Original Mono Mix) 3:09
  6. "Sermon" (Original Mono Mix) 2:34
  7. "Tobacco Road" (Original Mono Mix) 2:50
  8. "Penduli Pendulum" (Original Mono Mix) 1:55
  9. "Jessye' Lisabeth" (Original Mono Mix) 3:11
  10. "Refractions" (Original Mono Mix) 2:20
  11. "Louisiana Man" (Original Mono Mix) 2:42
  12. "Courtyard" (Original Mono Mix) 2:57
  13. "Mornin' Glory" (Demo) 3:04
  14. "Sermon" (Demo) 2:25
  15. "Jessye' Lisabeth" (Demo) 3:13
  16. "Refractions" (Demo) 2:31
  17. "Louisiana Man" (Demo) 2:20

2-LP (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

LP 1 - SIDE A

  1. "Okolona River Bottom Band" (Remastered 2020) 2:58
  2. "Big Boss Man" (Remastered 2020) 2:59
  3. "Reunion" (Remastered 2020) 2:39
  4. "Parchman Farm" (Remastered 2020) 3:11
  5. "Mornin' Glory" (Remastered 2020) 3:08
  6. "Sermon" (Remastered 2020) 2:34

LP 1 - SIDE B

  1. "Tobacco Road" (Remastered 2020) 2:51
  2. "Penduli Pendulum" (Remastered 2020) 1:55
  3. "Jessye' Lisabeth" (Remastered 2020) 3:07
  4. "Refractions" (Remastered 2020) 2:21
  5. "Louisiana Man" (Remastered 2020) 2:42
  6. "Courtyard" (Remastered 2020) 2:56

LP 2 - SIDE A

  1. "Okolona River Bottom Band" (Instrumental) 2:42
  2. "Mississippi Delta" (Alternate Take) 3:06
  3. "Seventh Son" (Band Version) 2:53
  4. "The Way I Do" (Demo) 3:36
  5. "Feelin' Good" (Demo) 3:21

LP 2 - SIDE B

  1. "Mornin' Glory" (Demo) 3:04
  2. "Sermon" (Demo) 2:25
  3. "Jessye' Lisabeth" (Demo) 3:13
  4. "Refractions" (Demo) 2:31
  5. "Louisiana Man" (Demo) 2:20​
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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

    • Hi Andrew, Yes, it does. The stereo album is presented in a new mix (the box set used the original mix); the mono album mix is also new to CD. The bonus instrumental of "Okolona River Bottom Band" and demo of "The Way I Do" are not on the box set and are exclusive to this release.

      Reply

  2. I have the boxset which is amazing...and I saw this & was like oh no...I hate buying duplicates, multiple versions of any one record unless there is enough stuff on it to supplement the original box...and this does...it doesn't seem to replace the DS disc in it, insomuch as expand on it...I do wonder if Batt will be doing the same for the other discs in the box in the future?? And I do wonder if OTBJ is done, not being touched again?? Also, that Mercury Rev disc is pretty sweet... then again, anything to do with the Flaming Lips is awesome...back to BG, happy to see her stuff being regarded as original, groundbreaking & genius...that she is getting overdue artistic respect...

    Reply

  4. Any idea of the packaging for this. Amazon UK has a pack shot that shows the edges of two inner picture sleeves and different colour labels for the two discs, but it doesn't look like a gatefold.

    Also, is there a download code with the LP like there was with the RSD Live at the BBC?

    Reply

    • Hi, producer compiler Andrew here. The vinyl is a gatefold, and has two printed inners. the inner gatefold has photos and sleevenotes. there will be a download code but not for US purchases as there are different crazy laws which mean we cant do it!

      Reply

  5. This is a sweet remastering. The Shorty Rogers instrumental of Oklohona River Bottom Band is a juicy jazz inflected romp. I felt like an addict playing it over and over again. Bobbie croons with the best of them on The Way I Do. Refractions and Courtyard( my personal favorites) are crystal clear masterpieces. I get tired of the commercial sales comparisons to Ode to Billie Joe. The album peaked at #111 on the Billboard top 200( not #136 which is printed everywhere) I have all the back issues. It went from #136 to #111(it's peak). The #111 peak is hard to see because it's at the top of the second page of that issue. It had a three month run on the top 200.If that's a flop: then every album( save one) that Buffy St. Marie recorded is a commercial flop too. Most female recording artists of that era would have given their right teeth to have an album sell 100,000 copies .I get it : compared to her debut million seller album obviously expectations were not met. That says more about the record industry. Gentry's debut opened doors. She sold 5 million records in 1967 alone and had a dozen artist cover her songs. Along with Streisand ,she proved a female solo artist could move a million albums.. For her, it set the goal post way too high. This was an artist willing( demanding) to take creative risks .It should have been rewarded instead on penalized.

    Reply

  6. Hi there

    I've just received a copy of this on vinyl. It sounds amazing. However, there appears to be a mistake in the packaging. When I open the gatefold the inside looks odd. The tabs have been glued to the outside rather than in the inside of the interior gatefold sleeve. Is this an intentional retro flipback look? It appears to be a mistake in the packaging but I may be wrong. Is anyone able to confirm?

    I purchased in the UK but no download card was included.

    C

    Reply

      • Andrew

        Thanks for clarifying the packaging issue but more importantly thanks for your amazing work on this project. It sounds like Bobbie is in my living room, especially on the acoustic bonus tracks.

        Reply

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