Best of Friends

Tom Paxton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 24, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Appleseed Records
• ASIN: B00019PDJ8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,624 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Sing Out!

"Finally an available record of the marvelous singing that Tom, Bob and Anne did together as Best of Friends."

Product Description

In 1984, two generations of master folksinger-songwriters – Tom Paxton and Bob Gibson – teamed up with relative newcomer Anne Hills, soon to gain recognition as their peer, to perform for 18 months as Best of Friends. The trio toured the US, UK, and Canada but made no formal recordings, which left Best of Friends a missing and much sought after link in the chain of recorded folk history – until now! A live February 1985 concert taped at Holstein’s, then one of Chicago’s finest folk clubs, and broadcast on a local radio station, recently resurfaced and is now presented as the only available recording by this three-fold supergroup.

The trio’s senior member, Bob Gibson was a unique folk-pop stylist who popularized the 12-string guitar and inspired many of the major country-rock stars of the ’60s and ’70s, including The Byrds and The Eagles. On "Best of Friends," he contributes three original compositions, including the inspirational "Pilgrim Song," which addresses the 12-step recovery program for substance abusers. Gibson’s strengths as an instrumental and vocal arranger are much in evidence, with his trademark 12-string, banjo and voice deftly underpinning Paxton (vocals, acoustic guitar), whose songs dominate the set, and Anne Hills (vocals, acoustic guitar), whose warm soprano provides the rich, lovely bond linking the three singers. The group also performs Anne’s song, "While You Sleep."

The CD’s material and the intimate mood of the performance are models of original folk music. Paxton, a GRAMMY nominee for 2002’s "Looking for the Moon" CD on Appleseed, presents the Tom Lehreresque nightmare "One Million Lawyers," tributes to political martyrs and musical heroes, atmospheric Americana, environmental and sociological concerns, romantic ballads, good-time anthem "Bottle of Wine," and his signature "Ramblin’ Boy." Gibson’s "Let the Band Play Dixie" calls for social unity, and its quote from Abraham Lincoln could be the motto of this CD: "We are gathered not in anger but in celebration."

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long Overdue, June 15, 2005

By 

Sheryl Katz (Chatsworth, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Best of Friends (Audio CD)

I have checked Amazon several times over the last fifteen years hoping for this album to come out on CD. I had heard most, if not all, of the cuts on Dick Cerri's Music Americana when I lived in Washington DC, and I loved what I heard.

Bob Gibson, while perhaps one of the least well-known of the great singers of the folk revival, was my favorite folksinger while I was growing up. It has been said that his voice was "too good" for folk music. He had a wonderful warm baritone, and a great sense of humor. He demonstrated with this group as well as on his glorious recordings with Bob (or has he sometimes called himself- Hamilton) Camp that he could also blend beautifully in harmony.

Tom Paxton, of course, has a great knack for writing clever words and melodies with sly social commentary. He is perhaps the weakest pure singer of the three.

Anne Hills has a beautiful, pure, almost operatic soprano. I have listened to Anne Hills recordings where she sings on her own, and I have generally no liked them. Mostly because she tends to traditional old English folk material that doesn't resonate for me.

Combine the three of them and you have a great trio, reminiscent in some ways of Peter, Paul and Mary but more interesting.

Every song on this album is enjoyable. I particularly liked "Sing for the Song", "And Loving You", and "Let the Band Play Dixie". I liked every song on the album, but my favorites are those where there is significant harmonizing and I haven't heard the song ten thousand times as I have with most Tom Paxton songs.

The quality of sound on the CD is good, no complaints with the transfer. Much of this was recorded live, so the possibility of sound compression was very real, but I am very happy with this CD.

This is one of the greatest folk music CDs ever made. If you like folk music buy it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing to fear from this product of 1984!, October 11, 2008

By 

R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Best of Friends (Audio CD)

I've heard a lot of this collection on vinyl and somehow missed that it had released on CD 4 years ago. This CD is the result of three of folk's most talented singers: Tom Paxton, Bob Gibson, and Annie Hillis touring for over a year.

Yes, a lot of this is still topical. Too many lawyers, politician's goofs (remember Ronald Reagan talking about trees being dangerous to the ecology), and just plain fun. This is folk music at it's classic best and a hard to find selection.

Rebecca Kyle, October 2008

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, December 27, 2009

By 

Bax3 "Bax3" - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Best of Friends (Audio CD)

I have been a fan of Bob Gibson for many years and am pleased to add this to my collection. Tom Paxton is a fine writer and entertainer. I had never heard Anne Hall - she has an incredable voice and I will seek out more of her work. The songs are wonderful and the show is just enough to give a glimps of the personalities without imposing on the music.