This is Buffy's 1968 shot at a C&W album. After establishing herself as a darling of the American folk/protest scene in the 60's she commanded enough respect to head down to Nashville and record with some of the people she admired. The Jordanaires, Lloyd Green, Grady Martin and Sonny Osborne, to name a few, are all on this session. On the surface it may sound like regular Nashville but there was no way she was ever going to trot out a generic C&W album. She always did everything a bit Buffy and you can detect elements of the hippy folky cree native protester threaded throughout.
Robert Cristgau slated it in '68 referring to it as "assimilated music at its emptiest"... Well, he's a prick. There are a number of tunes here that have plenty of depth and attitude - and, where the lyrics tend towards cloying escapism, the composition often lifts it back to great songwriting - the title track being a grand example. And, as ever, her soul is in it. Nevertheless, it didn't do well... possibly because it stood across genres. I suspect a lot of the grumbling came from blinkered C&W purists and diehard folkies bemoaning the decline of the protest movement.
And, to be honest, some of Buffy IS a little hard to take.
If it doesn't work for you, you could always just gawp at the photos of Ms Sainte-Marie on the back - or try her crazy 1969 psyche gem "Illuminations" which isn't suitable for country month.
I'm Gonna Be A Country Girl Again
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