Jeannie C. Riley - The Generation Gap (Plantation, 1970)

There's more to Jeannie C. Riley than mini-skirts, go-go boots, big hair, and "Harper Valley PTA" - a lot more, believe me. The fact that she was an incredibly beautiful woman in her prime unfortunately caused many people to focus exclusively on this side of her, ignoring her talent as a singer and forgetting that she recorded not one, but several worthwhile LPs in the late 1960s and early 1970s. While producer Shelby Singleton should be commended for giving Riley her big break by signing her to his fledgling Plantation label, he was also apparently responsible for insisting that she maintain her country sex kitten persona while she recorded for him. While this image provided a much-needed jolt of sensuality to conservative Nashville at the time, it also impeded her growth as an artist and probably contributed to her psychological, physical, and spiritual problems later in life.

STRIKING A PENSIVE POSE

Of course, she was never able to duplicate the massive success of the Harper Valley PTA LP and the title track (a No. 1 hit single on both the country and pop music charts in 1968), but it wasn't for lack of trying. Indeed, The Generation Gap, in my estimation, is her crowning achievement and most interesting album, from the psychedelic cover artwork to the often adventurous performances found within. "The Generation Gap," with its condemnation of elder hypocrisy, eloquently reveals sympathy for the youth culture of her day. Occupying a space somewhere between the territory of Nancy Sinatra and Bobbie Gentry, the lush "Fine Feathered Friend" features imaginative, seductive lyrics tailor-made for Riley. Beginning with a Doc Watson-like acoustic guitar run, the country psych nugget "Words, Names, Faces" maintains a breakneck pace that never lets up. With its kitchen-sink production, mind-expanding lyrics (e.g. "Words, names, faces, like a muddy river roll across my mind...walkin' through my life with no meaning to the phrases, just words, names, faces") and fascinating guitar effects, this absolutely fantastic - albeit brief - performance is like Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn on LSD, not exactly an easy thing to pull off. "My Man" sounds not unlike something Aretha Franklin could have recorded at Muscle Shoals around the same time, while "He Made a Woman Out of Me" features some impressive steel guitar, probably by Pete Drake. "Duty Not Desire," "Darkness Falls," and "Holdin' On" are more typical country songs in sound and subject matter, their inclusion being possible attempts to prevent more traditional listeners from being completely alienated by Riley's otherwise progressive approach. The appearance of Joe South's "Games People Play" (done very nicely by Jeannie, by the way) suggests that he may have had a hand in making this album. I swear that I can hear the distinctive sound of his Danelectro Sitar Guitar on several of this album's tracks. Can anyone out there confirm or disprove his presence here? "Okie from Muskogee" is a capable cover version of Merle Haggard's reactionary hit song and likely another attempt to balance the more forward-thinking sentiments expressed on tracks like "The Generation Gap." The album concludes with the somewhat scandalous "To the Other Woman," in which Riley takes the perspective of an adulteress, a role she would assume in real life when her days as a Nashville hitmaker started to come to an end.

My only quibble with this album is its brevity; it clocks in at less than 30 minutes. Even so, this is an excellent set of tunes and a fine product of its time. Today, Riley is unfortunately a born again Christian. Good thing she left us with a pretty deep recorded legacy while she was still a fetching hell-raiser.

LUCKY MOTORCYCLE

1. The Generation Gap
2. Fine Feathered Friend
3. Words, Names, Faces
4. My Man
5. He Made a Woman out of Me
6. Duty Not Desire
7. Games People Play
8. Darkness Falls
9. Holdin' On
10. Okie from Muskogee
11. To the Other Woman