Bobbie Gentry's the Delta Sweete Revisited

The standout performance comes from country singer Margo Price, who depicts living a life in fear of a vengeful God on the powerful Sermon (“God almighty’s gonna cut you down”). But Williams deserves credit too, for her impassioned take on Ode to Billie Joe, a 1967 US No 1 single drafted in here to replace the original album’s inessential Louisiana Man.

The arrangements may be cleaner and songs embellished with alternative focuses but it would be hard to claim they don’t have the interests of the originals at heart. Seen as a sensitive collective tribute it’s hard to view it as anything else than a success.

With its lavish arrangement and Williams' gritty performance, the band find new ways of celebrating one of the great underappreciated artists of the '60s and '70s--something that's true of Bobbie Gentry's the Delta Sweete Revisited as a whole.

Rev’s somewhat radical interpretation will alert Americana fans to Gentry’s unfairly neglected gem, now ready for a belated rediscovery.

Rebooted with tender opulence, affectionate awe, and full commitment o a widescreen, almost transcendental experience. [Mar 2019, p.94]

The album does not aim to recreate arrangements from a half-century prior; the emphasis is on radical reinterpretation, and that mission succeeds.

Sweete, and then, deliciously soured. [Apr 2019, p.86]

The Delta Sweete Revisited probably isn’t destined to be anything more than an interesting footnote in the career of anybody involved. But it certainly has something to it: a mood, an ambience, an ethereal sultriness, chilly northern mists turning to hot southern steam.

Lucinda Williams' version of Gentry's iconic "Ode To Billie Joe" leaves much to be desired but. ... Overall, this one's worth it. [Mar 2019, p.30]