Customer Reviews

Definitive Rolf Harris

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some of the songs may need a little getting used to, but on average most songs are pretty catchy, and best of all , they stay catchy even after listening quite a few times. I particularly like "iko iko" "Waltzing Mathilda" "the court of king Caractacus" "Stairway to heaven" and "Tie my kangaroo down sport" The "hickey" version of that song "Tie my hunting dog down Jed" is very good too.

It isn't dance music. But it sure is good to listen to, and it does have swing.

mm.. maybe I'm just not the dancing type.

I have been looking for Rolf Harris for years. I have two of the original albums from the 60's that belonged to my father. Wonderful listening. My kids know and love all the songs now, too. It would be a 5 star rating if they hadn't cut off the introduction to Botany Bay. Will there ever be a re-issue of his original albums I would like to have them on CD? (as I'm concerned about playing the albums anymore.)

To me, "Tie Me Kangeroo Down Sport" evokes memories of a jukebox in my favorite college bar. Though the version on this CD is not the one from the original 45 -- the derrogatory language directed at Aboroginies was replaced and a new verse substituted in -- it is still an excellend collection.

This CD shows the versitility of Harris, his works ranging from folksy to humorous (the cover of "Stairway to Heaven"). But a warning -- once you start listening to this CD, its hard to get some of the tunes out of your head.

I searched for this disc for almost a year until I stumbled on to Amazon. Now five days later I have my Rolf Harris disc and I can sit and listen to all the classics again. Six White Boomers,Tie Me Kangaroo Down,Stairwar To Heaven,they're all here and they are all still great!!

Rolf's "Definitive" collection made it to my number one this month with his great witt, humour, warmth, artistic talent, and generosity (see inlay for details).

I found a wide range of emotions stirring around from the different tracks on this compilation -- which itself seems to flip from tragic to blindingly hilarious very well. Most parts flow very naturally and show what seems to be the genuine good nature and humour in Rolf's personality. Other parts seem slightly forced at times, but contribute to the work as a whole.

This album confirms my belief that Rolf Harris is one of the best entertainers that I've ever come across. Not only does he write, sing and perform a completely original style of music -- he normally does big paintings to go with it. Reading the detailed and interesting inlay, I was astounded to read how long his career is, because he's been remarkably consistent with his diversity.

Many of the recordings are studio recordings, and you can feel the ambience jumping out at you. You can get an idea of where different people in the audience are, and where the band is in relation to Rolf. It's a multi-faceted work of greatly varing depth, and unfortunately all of it is likely to be dismissed quickly from some people's minds when they see name "Rolf Harris".

A lot of people my age (24) seem to be literally too cool to listen to him. But I think a lot of people would enjoy his warmth (indeed, I've already sent two copies to friends -- and it turns out cheaper to buy/wrap/send this from Amazon.com than to buy one copy locally here in Hamburg).

rolf is the king of music and he has proved it once again in this superb album of his greatest hits .THIS IS A MUST BY

I grew up to the music and antics of Rolf Harris and I think he's a genius. One of my favorite songs as a kid was Tie me Kangaroo Down Sport. This album has that song though not quite the way I remember it, but still good and many others that are so entertaining. I can listen to this album over and over. Among my favorites are Court of King Caractacus, Iko Iko and Waltzing Matilda. Big Dog, Nick Teen and Al K. Hall and Jake the Peg are a scream. They are so funny. Rolf Harris is definitely old school. I can't imagine any current day musician having the audacity to carry off some of these songs. They're not very PC, but they're great. Good entertainment value!

When I was about fifteen years old I bought my first Rolf Harris album: "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport/Sun Arise" -- I was hooked on his crazy zany twisted humorous (sometimes seriously somber) songs. No one can deliver Rolf's songs like Rolf does. Finally I found this CD collection with one of my all time favorites :"The Court Of King Caractacus" (Now the ladies of the harem of the court of king caractacus is just passing by) -- It'll make you smile and laugh and hum the tune all day and night.
I regret that one of my all time favorite Rolf songs isn't to be found on this collection (nor on any other I can locate) namely: "Two Buffalos". Maybe Rolf will include that track on future issues of this album or on some other.
All in all, this is an enjoyable experience, as is listening to any of Rolf's songs.
Thank you Rolf Harris for years and years of really neat and unusual and off-beat music!

I remember watching his t.v. show when i lived in England back in the 70's. My parents had a tape of his (that actually has some slightly different recordings of some of these songs) and we used to listen to it in our car on our road trips. Needless to say i know all the words to the classics. The only song that isn't on this one that i wish was is "Fijian Girl" That's a great tune. If anyone knows where i could find that old tape i'd appreciate it. The newer stuff is fine too, and stairway to heaven is a riot. the whole album makes me feel 10 again!

I was hoping to find a few other songs on his greatest hits like 'in the wet' , 'sir maximilian mouse','big black ball, etc.A good record all the same.I wish more people were turned on to this guys work-it would be easier to find. I love the led zeplin tune. Bryan S Whelan