Customer Reviews

Borrowed Tales

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was just given this album by my mother for Christmas, and while I might not have thought to buy it for my self, I'm certainly glad someone else did. I might have liked it even more had Williams strayed a little farther from the original arrangements, but I understand his reasons for not doing so, and it's a minor quibble at best. What I can't fault at all is his interpretation, especially on "Reason To Believe" and "Games People Play," which I've never particularly liked before, as well as on others like "Crying In The Rain" and "If You Could Read My Mind." Not quite a classic, and maybe not representative of Williams, but well worth repeated listening.

While I always enjoy Don Williams originals, 3 or 4 of my favorite Williams' recordings appear on this disc. He covers classic rock tunes such as Cat Stevens "Peace Train," and James Taylor's Folk-Rock tune, "You've Got a Friend." Other standouts include "Crying in the Rain," "Games People Play," and "Fever." I highly recommend this disc to any Don Williams fans, Country music fans, or just plain old music fans looking for a great CD! Buy it, you won't regret it!

They may be "borrowed," but Don Williams makes them his own. A truly wonderful album, one I listen to over and over again.

Eagerly we tore off the plastic wrap, popped the newly arrived CD of "Borrowed Tales" into the player, and settled back for a treat from our favorite singer. Sad to say, that's not what we got. I never thought I would wince to hear Don Williams sing, but this new CD is a painful experience. I couldn't bear to listen to it more than once. He has always prided himself, and justly so, on the careful way he chooses and arranges his songs. I don't know who got to him this time, but it was no friend who convinced him that recording "Fever" was a good idea. If my memory from one listening is correct, he has done nothing to make the songs his own; it's almost as if he were singing along with the original recording. Wrong tempo for him, wrong phrasing, wrong tone.