Barbara Mandrell "Treat Him Right" (Columbia, 1971)
(Produced by Billy Sherrill)
On her debut album, future superstar Barbara Mandrell was definitely still paying her dues... She'd signed to Columbia two years earlier, but was put on the backburner until the label could figure out what to do with her. Her earliest chart hits were countrified R&B covers -- Dan Penn's "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," "Treat Him Right," "I've Been Loving You Too Long" -- all of which were gathered here, along with a slew of other covers such as "Games People Play," "The Letter" and "I Almost Lost My Mind." She proves herself game, even given the lackluster material, and shines a bit when some newer tunes provided by producer Billy Sherrill are steered her way. Sherrill's touch is strongest on these songs, particularly the tunes that open up the album, and Mandrell slips into the countrypolitan mode with remarkable ease. It didn't take them long to shed the cover tune trap, which was good since she was much better suited to original material, and seemed to know it, pouring herself into a handful of songs here, while letting the others slide by. The overall impression is of a new artist whose talent was much larger than the opportunity she'd been given. She made the most of it, though, and having persevered, eventually took the town by storm. In the meantime, this wasn't a bad album by any means, and traditional country fans'll probably like it a lot better than her work at the end of the decade. Worth checking out.
Barbara Mandrell & David Houston "A Perfect Match" (Columbia, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Sherrill)
Although she'd had a solo album the year before, this duets set was Barbara Mandrell's real coming out party, pairing her with countrypolitan second-stringer David Houston who was a more genteel singer than George Jones, the superstar of producer Billy Sherrill's early-'70s empire. It's hard not to compare Houston and Jones, particularly as they were often given the same material to record, and especially on albums like this where Sherrill was hoping to conjure the same electricity that Jones had in his chart-topping duets with Tammy Wynette. It's Mandrell who comes off best here: although she's being slotted into the same styles as Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, you can sense her latent talent, and on the tracks where her own personality comes through, she shines. By contrast, Houston remains an uncompelling figure -- he can't really belt it out, and you don't really feel it when he croons. What works best here are the uptempo numbers, such as "We've Got Everything But Love," "Perfect Match" and "We're Gonna Make It All The Way," and the tracks where Mandrell gets some solo spotlight, which is the direction where her real fame would lie. There's a surprisingly limp rendition of Billy Braddock's "Something To Brag About," which you can contrast to the George & Tammy version, or the Charlie Louvin/Melba Montgomery hit, and the shortcomings of the Houston/Mandrell duo become painfully clear. A couple of tracks were released as singles, but nothing really happened, and after this, Sherrill concentrated -- wisely -- on developing Mandrell as a solo star.
Barbara Mandrell "The Midnight Oil" (Columbia, 1973)
(Produced by Billy Sherrill)
Barbara Mandrell "This Time I Almost Made It" (Columbia, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Sherrill)
Barbara Mandrell "This Is... Barbara Mandrell" (ABC-Dot, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Mandrell's first album after leaving Columbia... Even this late in the game, she still sounded relatively rootsy... Relative, that is, to the horrendously disco-fied pop of her later work, which is prefigured here by the bland, Olivia Newton John-ish "Love Is Thin Ice," which kicks off Side Two. Make no mistake, this isn't great country music, but it is decent countrypolitan, and she can carry the story on these weepy, goopy tunes. It takes a little extra effort to get past the production -- which ranges from icky to innocuous -- but there are a few good songs on here. "Standing Room Only" was the big hit -- pegging out at #5 -- but there are other ballads that hit the mark as well, particularly "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx," a love-gone-wrong song that's begging to be covered. Side note: among the backup singers was Janie Fricke, who broke out as a solo star the following year.
Barbara Mandrell "Midnight Angel" (ABC-Dot, 1977)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Lovers, Friends, And Strangers" (ABC-Dot, 1977)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Love's Ups And Downs" (ABC-Dot, 1977)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Moods" (MCA, 1978)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Just For The Record" (MCA, 1979)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Love Is Fair" (MCA, 1980)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Live" (MCA, 1981)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "In Black And White" (MCA, 1982)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Moods" (MCA, 1982)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "He Set My Life To Music" (MCA, 1982)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
A gospel album, with guest appearances from Christian singers such as The Blackwood Brothers, Andre Crouch and Dotty Rambo, as well as a duet with B. J. Thomas.
Barbara Mandrell "Spun Gold" (MCA, 1983)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Clean Cut" (MCA, 1984)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell & Lee Greenwood "Meant For Each Other" (MCA, 1984)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Christmas At Our House" (MCA, 1984)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Get To The Heart" (MCA, 1985)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Moments" (MCA, 1986)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Sure Feels Good" (EMI, 1987)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "I'll Be Your Jukebox Tonight" (Capitol, 1988)
(Produced by Tom Collins)
Barbara Mandrell "Morning Sun" (Capitol, 1990)
Barbara Mandrell "No Nonsense" (Capitol, 1990)
(Produced by Jimmy Bowen)
Barbara Mandrell "Key's In The Mailbox" (EMI, 1991)
(Produced by Jerry Crutchfield)
Barbara Mandrell "Acoustic Attitude" (DRD, 1994)
Old hits, re-recorded in more stripped-down versions.
Barbara Mandrell "It Works For Me" (DRD, 1997)
Tributes
Barbara Mandrell/Various Artists "SHE WAS COUNTRY WHEN COUNTRY WASN'T COOL" (BNA, 2006)
A tribute album with some serious top talent, including Dierks Bentley, Terri Clark, Sara Evans, Brad Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, Gretchen Wilson, Willie Nelson and others. Considering how cheesy and pop most of Mandrell's work was, it's a little funny hearing some of the rootsier recording artists paying homage to her career... But hey, that's the beauty of Nashville!
Links
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The Wikipedia has a good biographical article and discography... Guaranteed to be at least 87% accurate!
Hick Music Index
Singer Barbara Mandrell was the very epitome of country's disco-era "countrypolitan" and country-pop crossover. A huge success in the late 1970s and '80, her career took a long time to take off... In the late 1960s, she became a protege of countrypolitan super-producer Billy Sherrill, but despite his (and her) best efforts, her Columbia recordings only had middling success. After she switched labels and producers, things clicked and Mandrell became a chartopper, indeed, she was one of the biggest stars in country music for over a decade. To be honest, outside of a few early songs, her stuff just isn't my cup of tea. Yes, she was a pioneer for women in country, but I'm not sure that blazing the trail for Reba McEntire and Wynonna Judd is really all that great a claim to fame. Anyway, she did record some classics, and here's a quick look at her work...
