Willy Jones album cover
Willy Jones

Susan Raye

1971
Capitol Records

Susan Raye released 13 albums on her own, and four duo albums with Buck Owens, between 1970 and 1976. This, her second solo release, features several Owens compositions — “Heartbreak Mountain,” “In The Arms Of Love,” “Happy Times Are Here Again,” the title track — but she wrote “Baby Sittin’ With Baby” and “I’ll Love You Forever (If You’re Sure You’ll Want Me Then)” herself. The biggest hit, “L.A. International Airport,” came from Leanne Scott; a brokenhearted song about flying away after a breakup, it became Raye’s signature song. This is country music that’s in tune with pop trends of its time; while “Heartbreak Mountain” is a hillbilly stomp, many of the slower songs travel the path of singer-songwriter folk-rock, somewhere between Judy Collins and John Denver, with just a little extra twang. This isn’t a honky-tonk album; it’s a Sunday-morning puttering-around-the-house album.

Phil Freeman

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