You've Come This Way Before

You've Come This Way Before is a 1968 album by American singer-songwriter Nancy Priddy. The album was produced by Phil Ramone.[1]

You've Come This Way Before
Studio album by
Released1968
GenrePsychedelic folk, acid folk
Length30:39
LabelDot
ProducerPhil Ramone

Release

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The album was originally released by Dot Records in 1968, and reissued on CD in 2005 by Rev-Ola Records.[2]

Style

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Plan B's Alistair Fitchett said the album had a "definite folk edge" mixed with "orchestrated pop" and "a sweet soulful country edge".[1] He also called it "beautifully psychedelic" in a way reminiscent of Buffalo Springfield, also noting that the title track is about Buffalo Springfield cofounder Stephen Stills.[1] AllMusic's Jason Ankeny called it a "minor classic of psychedelic folk".[3] The album has also been called acid folk.[2][4] Richie Unterberger called the album "the kind of idiosyncratically weird effort that could have only been made in the late '60s", with "trippy", "Through the Looking-Glass-like dreamy jottings" for lyrics.[5]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [5]

Fitchett called the album a "gem that demands your attention."[1] Unterberger, on the other hand, felt Priddy and her team "couldn't quite decide whether they were aiming for the pop market or the freaks", ending up with an album that could sometimes be "haunting and enticing" but mostly "doesn't cohere, the songwriting not being quite up to the apparent far-out ambitions of the project."[5]

In his book Music: Over 100 Top 10 Lists, critic Barney Harsent called "Christina's World" his sixth-favorite song inspired by art, with its inspiration coming from the painting of the same name by Andrew Wyeth.[6] Harsent called the song "beautiful" and the album "sublime".[6] A writer for Cash Box said the title track "displays a strong set of lyrics, well read by the lark and a vocal chorus."[7]

Track listing

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  1. "You've Come This Way Before" – 2:52
  2. "Ebony Glass" – 2:21
  3. "Mystic Lady" – 6:32
  4. "Christina's World" – 2:45
  5. "We Could Have It All" – 2:41
  6. "My Friend Frank" – 3:03
  7. "O' Little Child" – 3:17
  8. "And Who Will You Be Then" – 3:13
  9. "On the Other Side of the River" – 2:34
  10. "Epitaph" – 1:21

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Fitchett, Alistair. "Nancy Priddy - You've Come This Way Before". Plan B. p. 84. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Strong, Martin C. (2010). The Great Folk Discography, Volume 1: Pioneers & Early Legends. Edinburgh: Polygon. p. 241. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Nancy Priddy – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  4. ^ Stanley, Bob (2014). Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyoncé. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 297. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "Nancy Priddy - You've Come This Way Before". AllMusic. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Harsent, Barney (2014). Music: Over 100 Top 10 Lists. London: Bounty Books. p. 226.
  7. ^ "Nancy Priddy - "You've Come This Way Before"". Cash Box. November 2, 1968. p. 20. Retrieved August 13, 2023.