Buffy Ste. Marie has always been a country girl—she hasn't had to adjust her voice any to fit the Nashville inflection. She sounds just as good with steel guitar backing as she does all alone. Buffy sounds honest—that final note on "A Soulful Shade Of Blue" is as unpretentious as the dedication of the album to Chet Atkins. Somehow it doesn't seem to matter where she records. If she were backed by Gerry and the Pacemakers and produced by Frank Zappa it would still be just-plain Buffy Ste. Marie that came through.

The most obvious track on I'm Gonna Be A Country Girl Again where the Nashville sound corrupts her is on her classic "Now That The Buffalo's Gone." The electrifying, almost frightening intensity of the original version (on her album debut It's My Way) is lost behind the lilting steel guitar, bass and drum accompaniment, evoking no more than a wince rather than the usual unhinging shudder. The "brrum brrum" of the Jordanaires doesn't help retain the overwhelming sincerity of the song. Its really a lack of taste in arrangement. (The "dum-dum" Indian drum-like refrain towards the end could have easily been omitted. It sounds like something from Johnny Cash's "Bitter Tears.") And since Buffy is the kind of unassuming performer easily carried away by the thrill of recording in Nashville, surrounded by twelve or fifteen of the finest country musicians, producers Bob Lurie and Maynard Solomon probably could have convinced her to sing "Until Its Time For You To Go" in German in square-dance rhythm backed by that insidious Jordanaires' "brrum brrum"-ing.

"Piney Wood Hills" is the only other repeat from an earlier album (Many A Mile) and it, too, suffers. The haunting quality is lost— and replaced by a full country & western orchestra backing — pretty, but in-effectual.

But most of the other selections—all her own compositions— are beautiful. Especially "A Soulful Shade Of Blue" and "Sometimes When I Get To Thinkin'." She gets very honest-country on "He's A Pretty Good Man If You Ask Me" when she "talks" part of the two middle verses.

"Take My Hand For Awhile," with some pearly piano accompaniment by Floyd Kramer, is a soft ballad that's very easy to listen to but verges on the over-produced "country-Muzak" sound of Patsy Cline. And "Gonna Feel Much Better When You're Gone" is in the sickly-sweet vein of an old Rosemary Clooney "jumper".

Perhaps the best track is "Uncle Joe," a traditional square-dance number begun by Buffy on mouth-bow, followed by a verse-by-verse buildup of fiddle, bass and other instruments, until the whole backing group is involved. And since it's under two minutes in length it doesn't have a chance to get boring.

The album is really too perfect. It has that over-produced, grossly commercial-country tone; and its really too bad, because Buffy Ste. Marie is a serious, outstanding performer. All of these songs are good— although she's made a very obvious effort to sound simple and homey.

Buffy's done a good job here—I'm sure she's pleased with the result—in fact at her last few concerts she's been backed by a country group. But the production and arranging staff is to be blamed for trying too hard. (Their disastrous treatment of "Now That The Buffalo's Gone" is almost unforgivable.) It's too bad that Buffy and the outstanding back-up studio personnel couldn't have produced a more gratifying result. Their effort has been countermanded by an overzealous Lurie and Solomon. Too bad for all of us Buffy Ste. Marie fans. (RS 14)

BARRY GIFFORD