Gliding Bird

The conventional wisdom is that Harris was strictly a folksinger at the time she recorded the Gliding Bird album, having not yet been mentored by Gram Parsons in the ways of country music. But certain tracks on the album (especially the cover songs) do have an old-fashioned country flavor, which possibly was the reason that Parsons took an interest in her as a musical collaborator. The songs that Harris wrote (as well as the title track, which was written by her then-husband Tom Slocum) tend to follow a more straightforward folk direction. At this time, Harris had not yet fully developed her gifts for eloquent phrasing. But the natural loveliness of her voice distinguishes the material. Harris' five self-written compositions are not great examples of songwriting, but the closing track "Waltz Of The Magic Man" is a likably whimsical fairy tale, and her singing effectively sweeps the listener into the song's child-like fantasy world. The album's four cover songs could have been better chosen; Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" was a hit for Harry Nilsson around the time of this album's release, and Harris' rendition of it here suffers in comparison to Nilsson's better-known version. But, intentionally or not, Harris gives Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and Hank Williams' "I Saw The Light" a noticeable country feel, anticipating her future as a country star and as a celebrated interpretive singer.