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Mississippi-born singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry reached the pinnacle of success – earning hit singles, winning Grammy Awards, headlining a BBC series of her own, selling out engagements in Las Vegas, and appearing with Johnny Carson – before pulling off music’s ultimate disappearing act.  Gentry last performed in public on a television special in 1981 and last appeared in public at the 1982 Academy of Country Music Awards presentation.  She was 39. But the music of Bobbie Gentry has never really disappeared, with her debut, self-penned single “Ode to Billie Joe” remaining a radio fixture and inspiring countless younger musicians over the years.  The Grammy-nominated 2018 box set The Girl from Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters pulled back the curtain to reveal just how much more there was to Gentry than “Ode to Billie Joe” and her chart-topping U.K. cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.”  It also beautifully illustrated the arc of Gentry’s groundbreaking and self-driven career, powerfully arguing that her retreat from public view shouldn’t be the main focus of her story.  Now, that expansive 8-CD collection is being trimmed down to 2 CDs or 2 LPs in a new highlights edition.

The Girl from Chickasaw County: Highlights from the Capitol Masters arrives in stores from UMC on August 5.  Again produced and compiled by Andrew Batt, both iterations naturally open with “Ode to Billie Joe.”  The 1967 single – recorded far from Chickasaw County, Mississippi, in Hollywood, California – went to No. 1 on the U.S. Hot 100 while also charting on the Easy Listening, Country, and R&B surveys.  It topped the charts in Canada and made an impressive No. 13 showing in the United Kingdom, too.  “Billie Joe” ignited a career that found Gentry often difficult to pigeonhole.  Her music encompassed the strains of country, pop, soul, folk, jazz, and psychedelia, sometimes in the same song.  The highlights edition of the box set doesn’t track her career by the songs which were most popular – “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” is missing – but rather by painting a vivid portrait of her musical artistry in all its many colors, with a special emphasis on her evocative and incisive songwriting.  As such, demos, live tracks, alternate takes, outtakes, and remixes are part of the collection alongside original versions.

Highlights includes selections from all seven of Gentry’s Capitol albums (her final studio album for the label, Patchwork, was released in 1971) including the stunning title track of 1970’s Fancy which has since become a staple of country superstar Reba McEntire’s repertoire.  McEntire, of course, is one of the many artists who looked to Gentry as a key source of inspiration.  Though she was a remarkable songwriter, Gentry was an equally gifted interpreter as can be heard on her recordings of such diverse compositions as Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman’s “Hushabye Mountain,” John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby,” Irving Berlin’s “Supper Time,” and Bacharach and David’s “This Girl’s in Love with You.”  Her duet with fellow Capitol star Glen Campbell on “Let It Be Me” is heard here in the box set’s strikingly intimate mix sans the original recording’s lush strings.  Three songs (“Casket Vignette,” “Recollection,” and “Hushabye Mountain”) have been especially remixed by Andrew Batt for this release.

Haunting, moving, joyful, sensual, and always deeply soulful, the music of Bobbie Gentry remains timeless.  The Girl from Chickasaw County: Highlights from the Capitol Masters is due from UMC on August 5, adorned with David Downton’s cover artwork from the box set.  You’ll find the track listings and pre-order links for both formats below.

Bobbie Gentry, The Girl from Chickasaw County: Highlights from the Capitol Masters (UMC, 2022)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD 1

1. Ode to Billie Joe
2. I Saw an Angel Die
3. Chickasaw County Child
4. Sunday Best [Alternate Take]
5. Hurry, Tuesday Child [Demo]
6. Niki Hokey / Barefootin’ [Live on the BBC]
7. Mississippi Delta [Alternate Version]
8. The Seventh Son [Band Version]
9. Okolona River Bottom Band
10. Mornin’ Glory
11. Jessye’ Lisabeth
12. Refractions
13. Courtyard
14. Feelin’ Good [Demo]
15. Sweete Peony [Alternate Version]
16. Casket Vignette
17. Recollection
18. Eleanor Rigby
19. Sittin’ Pretty
20. Hushabye Mountain
21. The Conspiracy of Homer Jones
22. Sunday Mornin’ [Alternate Version]
23. Let It Be Me (duet with Glen Campbell) [without strings]

CD 2

1. Supper Time
2. God Bless The Child
3. This Girl’s In Love With You
4. Touch ‘Em with Love [Stereo Version]
5. Greyhound Goin’ Somewhere
6. Seasons Come, Seasons Go [Demo]
7. Glory Hallelujah, How They’ll Sing [Alternate Take]
8. Fancy
9. Find ‘Em, Fool ‘Em and Forget ‘Em
10. He Made A Woman Out of Me
11. Rainmaker
12. Circle ‘Round the Sun
13. Apartment 21 [Stereo 7″ Version]
14. Billy the Kid [Live on the BBC]
15. Benjamin
16. But I Can’t Get Back
17. Belinda [Acoustic Version]
18. Mean Stepmama Blues
19. Lookin’ In
20. Smoke
21. Joanne
22. You And Me Together
23. The Girl from Cincinnati

Vinyl:

Side A

1. Ode To Billie Joe
2. Chickasaw County Child
3. Hurry, Tuesday Child [Demo]
4. Sunday Best [Alternate Take]
5. Mississippi Delta [Alternate Version]
6. Okolona River Bottom Band
7. Refractions
8. Courtyard

Tracks 3-4 first time on vinyl

Side B

1. Mornin’ Glory
2. Sweete Peony [Alternate Version]
3. Casket Vignette
4. Recollection
5. Sittin’ Pretty
6. Hushabye Mountain
7. The Conspiracy of Homer Jones
8. Sunday Mornin’ [Alternate Version]
9. Let It Be Me (Duet with Glen Campbell) [without strings]

Tracks 2, 7-9 first time on vinyl
Tracks 3,4,6 remixed for this release

Side C

1. God Bless The Child
2. This Girl’s In Love With You
3. Touch ‘Em With Love [Stereo Version]
4. Seasons Come, Seasons Go [Demo]
5. Glory Hallelujah, How They’ll Sing [Alternate Take]
6. Fancy
7. He Made A Woman Out Of Me
8. Circle ‘Round The Sun

Tracks 3-5, 8 first time on vinyl

Side D

1. Apartment 21 [Stereo Version]
2. Benjamin
3. But I Can’t Get Back
4. Lookin’ In
5. Smoke
6. Joanne
7. The Girl from Cincinnati

Tracks 1,5,6 first time on vinyl