Barbara Mandrell
When it comes to the pure Nashville sound—not to be confused with pure country music—nobody is smoother than Barbara. (Sister Louise is among those who come close, though she's a little more fiery on occasion.) Produced by Tom Collins, who also handles Ronnie Milsap's LPs, and including four tunes by those country slicker composers Rhonda Fleming and Dennis Morgan, Spun Gold never works up a lot of emotion. But it's an album that never seems uncertain or offhand, either. The nicest change of pace is a duet with Steve Wariner on Overnight Sensation, the Jerry Fuller tune that was a 1976 hit for Mickey Gilley. If Mandrell's voice is sounding a little huskier and deeper these days, she's lost none of her verve, or her ability to put across this kind of material.
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