John Hartford - Gentle on My Mind and Other Originals By John Hartford '1968

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. California Earthquake
02. Gentle On My Mind
03. Natural to Be Gone
04. The Six OClock Train and a Girl with Green Eyes
05. A Simple Thing As Love
06. Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation
07. I Would Not Be Here
08. Front Porch
09. Untangle Your Mind
10. Like Unto a Mockingbird
11. The Tall Tall Grass


Poetic. Blissful. Wonderfully arranged. Lavishly recorded. This collection of
original melodies written and recorded by widely recognized singer/songwriter
John Hartford is vivid and beautiful. Each tune throws in hints of creative
brilliance and sincerely artistic poetic expression, much to the likings of Bob
Dylan and Willy Nelson. Charming songs such as A Simple Thing as Love and his
radio-friendly single, Gentle on My Mind, stir the kettle of emotion, where more
serious subjects are covered in the deep retrospect song California Earthquake
and the chilling Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation. Mouth to Mouth is an upbeat,
vibrant tune stressing the need for a nations rebirth, as Hartford chants, good
for the country, good for the nation. Surely it finds itself as song born for a
good old time mingling among friends. The albums most deeply gripping tune is
the lyrically poetic gem I Would Not Be There, a passionate six-verse tune
detailing the characteristic lives of a man visiting a Baker-street bookstore to
check out a book of steamboats and cotton, he who is inspired by a fifth grade
replacement schoolmistress, a man at the barracks, and Sam, hung over from
drinking. The records overall lyrical content is mystic and sharp in quality and
respectfully strong in arrangement. Perfect for a morning cup of coffee and a
kind of pick-me-up for a cloudy day. You can tag along with John Hartford, who
never fails the listener of seeking and finding an enjoyable time. Like a day at
the annual state fair, Gentle on My Mind is folk-rock music at its best during
the 60s. Music that can bring together friends in times of laughter and nights
of tears, this record can warm the soul, never leaving its power of nostalgia.
Though the arrangements are strong, Hartfords lyrical content is not quite as
cohesive and powerful as many of Dylans or Nelsons records. Still, to give merit
were its due, his material ranks somewhat close to that pedestal of more widely
loved singer/songwriters of the time.

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