Harry Chapin - Gold Medal Collection
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Free Music Notes for Gold Medal Collection
Free Music Review: the best collection for the $$
Hit: 5 Stars
I had a birthday option once-cash, or CDs. I only really knew "Taxi" and "Cat's in the Cradle" from some records, but I wanted them on CD. I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the money on a 2 disc set just for 2 songs. I sort of knew some of the others like "WOLD" and "A Better Place To Be" (a fantastic song, despite that one review), but not that much. So I opted to pass on the cash and got some CDs and made sure that this was the first one I grabbed. I loved almost everything on it right away. I was sad not to see "30,000 lbs of Bananas", but other than that there were no disappointments. The spoken tracks with exerpts from speeches and interviews are amazing. "My Grandfather" is probably my favorite. "Sniper" seriously distrubed me for a while until I realized what a brilliant composition it is. Even "There Only Was One Choice" is on here which is a pretty incredible song but so long that you'd think it'd be left off.For me though, "Circle" is tough to listen to. It is one of the live tracks on the collection and in the middle he talks of his causes and how he'll be in the lobby to meet everyone and "kiss all the pretty ladies" then adds "sorry guys, maybe next year". You see, he died shortly after that performance so there was no "next year". The whole speech is incredibly passionate about his causes and all of the things that he was working for so to think that we lost him shortly after reminds us of what a sudden and tragic loss this was.
Free Music Review: The ultimate Harry Chapin album/cd.
Hit: 5 Stars
Having been a fan of Harry's since "Taxi" first hit the airwaves, I had waited a long time for a collection of all of his wonderful songs. While the "Gold Medal Colection" misses a few, it does capture Harry at his best. The classic story in "Taxi" moved me to become enthralled with Harry's work many years ago and I am still happy to say that even nearly 20 years after his passing I am still discovering the depth of his talent as a musician and his beauty as a human being. Every father of a teenage girl should be required to listen to "Tangled Up Puppet", because it is truly a life lesson in raising a daughter. I must have listened to it 20 times straight and with tears streaming down my face acknowledged that Harry new EXACTLY how I felt. He touched a chord in me that immediately made me share this song with my daughter, age 15. We cried and hugged as we listened, both realizing that Harry's song captured our relationship to a tee. It was a very moving moment for me, one that I will always remember. I wish Harry was here to thank for it. Now and then I sing a verse or two of that song and my daughter and I exchange that knowing look. Harry Chapin may never have been as famous as many, but his work had a quality of life that very few songwriters ever experience. I would highly recommend this cd and any other Harry Chapin work to anyone looking for compassion, understanding, laughter or just plain entertainment.Free Music Review: Excellent Chapin Primer
Hit: 5 Stars
If you're capable of becoming a devote fan of Harry Chapin, this two-CD set will certainly win you over. If you're already won over (and don't own EVERY album), there is also some valuable content here that didn't make the elaborate box set. The snatches of dialogue have some redundancy, but I wouldn't pass over any chance to hear how eloquent a speaker and philosopher Mr. Chapin was. "My Grandfather," in particular, deserves a place near the end of any home-made Chapin mix. Among the songs included, "There Only Was One Choice" strikes this reader as a surprising omission from the box set, as it was Harry's musical autobiography. Its inclusion here is admirable, as is "Sniper," Harry's other 10 minute epic. Other shorter pieces, such as "Winter Song" and "Dancing Boy," just wait to be discovered by those who know every word of "Cat's In The Cradle" and "Taxi."
The versions of "W*O*L*D*" and "Mr. Tanner" are unfortunately from Greatest Hits Live, since most people who will go for this collection will almost certainly have the essential GHL already.
Liner notes are fairly brief, but they do include musician information and the original album each song was pulled from.
As always, personal gripes about omissions abound (Six-String Orchestra, She Is Always Seventeen, Last Stand), but this set leaves a lot less to be desired than is fulfilled.
Enjoy the music, miss Harry.
Free Music Review: Chapin collectors please note:
Hit: 5 Stars
You know, I think this collection has some rarities on it, and I didn't know Harry had any. I have a complete collection of his Elektra albums, plus the unfinished "Last Of the Protest Singers" which his estate released on K-Tel, but "Thanksgiving Hunger Drives", "Commitment and Pete Seeger", "Performing", "Calluses" & "My Grandfather" don't ring a bell. Plus, I think both these discs max out at the 75-minute CD limit ("Sniper" and "There Only Was One Choice" are both quite long"), so you get a lot of music for your 22 bucks. Plus you get Harry, a paradox for such a seemingly-simple artist. He was a sentimentalist; there are songs I can't sing myself at parties because they bring tears--don't ask me to name them all. He was a humorist; "30,000 Pounds Of Bananas" about the tragic crash of a fruit truck is a hilarious parody of the truckdriver songs of '60s Country. He could be as noir as some Springsteen stuff; in "Sniper", he crawls inside the mind of Texas University Tower gunman Charles Whitman. Plus, we get both halves of the "Taxi" saga here in the same collection. Maybe my Chapin collection isn't all that complete after all.Free Music Review: Great Collection if You Liked Harry
Hit: 5 Stars
This collection has gotten mixed reviews, and for good reason. People either liked Harry Chapin very well or couldn't stand him. If you are the former, you'll want this collection. If you are the latter, nothing from Chapin will ever suit you. Harry was a great man and an average musician. But he touched certain people in a way few can. I bought this collection because I had liked "Taxi" and "Cats in the Cradle" as a youngster and thought I might enjoy more Harry. I loved it and have listened to it over and over again. But I suppose it's not for everybody. These are all "story" songs in the same vein as the aforementioned hits--that's Chapin--and if you didn't like those, you probably won't like anything here. For those of us who liked Harry's simple, down-to-earth style, this is a must. There are sound bites from Harry which are priceless and a few live performances--Harry's forte--which are well worth the $. It's very simple: If you liked Harry, buy this; if you didn't, don't. If you do, you won't be disappointed. It's very Harry!