Tracks: 1. I Take It Back / 2. Standing in the Rain / 3. The Big Hurt / 4. Sunglasses / 5. Bread and Butter / 6. I Can Show You How to Love / 7. It's Wonderful to Be in Love / 8. Love of the Common People / 9. Halfway to Paradise / 10. The Boy I Love / 11. Come Softly to Me
Comments:
"I Take it Back" from 1967 was Sandy Posey's third album, which, like the previous two albums, took its title from a hit single.
The title track is the first song from Posey I can remember hearing on the radio and although the style may not have been my usual style, I actually quite liked the song.
Although the album can in no way be called progressive, Posey and producer Chips Moman have moved more away from the Patsy Cline ballad style and the songwriting is generally more modern than on the two predecessors.
The hit single "I Take it Back" was written by Buddy Buie and J.R. Cobb, a songwriting duo who would also contribute to her next album.
Posey acquaintances are also Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, who have written an album's finest tracks "Standing in the Rain", which offers guitar and a little Motown sound. They also wrote the ballad “Bread and Butter”. The well-known pop formula with string arrangement is less pronounced on this album, but can still be found on tracks like "The Big Hurt" and "It's Wonderful to be Alone".
A big favorite is John D. Loudermilk's "Sunglasses" which is a nice modern pop song; charming and simply instrumented. As on the debut album, Posey here also gets the opportunity to show her own fine skills as a songwriter with the songs "I Can Show You How to Love" and "The Boy I Love". The former has a nice catchy beat, while the latter is a dramatic ballad in "girl-group" style.
John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins, known for the classic "Son of a Preacher Man", have written "Love of the Common People", which Posey here gives a great version of. The track was a minor hit for The Everly Brothers.
Carole King and Gerry Goffin are usually guarantors of high quality songs, and their "Halfway to Paradise" is also among the finest on "I Take it Back".
The final track "Come Softly to Me" is a really nice cover version of the old Fleetwood hit.
As a whole, again it's a very enjoyable period album.
