Customer Reviews

Everybody's Talkin

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

 

 

Fred Neil hails from Florida. In the early 1960s he appeared on the New York folk scene, teaming with Vince Martin for his earliest recordings but soon going solo. This was Fred's first recording on Capitol (original title: "Fred Neil"), and it's a showcase not only of his fine guitar strumming and arrangements but also of one of the richest voices ever to grace the grooves cut in vinyl. There is beauty and depth here. Numerous rock artists heard and were influenced by Fred Neil, including Harry Nilsson (of course) and Jefferson Airplane. The covers were good, but the original is still the best. No serious collection of pop music can be considered complete without this record in it.

How great to once again hear the magic of Fred. I waited a long time, way past the life of my vinyl recordings, for the sound of Fred to re-emerge. It had to happen! Nothing could stop something/someone this heavenly from appearing again. And it happened. I remember the days of the "Flick" coffee house in Florida, listening, transported. to the man hunched over the mike, mumbling, laughing, SINGING!!Singing? Far more than singing. Fred was the soul, the heart the essence of music. I never wanted the music to stop. I hope that life has been good to Fred. His music made our lives so much more than they would have been. His music made our lives better. And now I can just keep listening!!

This just happens to be one of those albums that was soundtrack to a pleasant period of time in my life. Also, Neil has a great voice and the tunes go down like sipping whiskey. I remember when the space shuttle went down, a local (Public Radio) dj played "Dolphins" several times in a row....and for some reason that seemed about as apt a response as any I ever heard. Good album! Buy it and listen to it.

I used to have this album, long since gone, now i got "The Many Sides of Fred Neil" CD which has all these songs and many many more.. but really these were the best songs , and just for the familiar cover photo, I wished I had gotten this one instead.

Fred Neil and Tim Hardin still stand up today as great music for me (and believe me I am all over the place musically)

After wearing out a couple of vinyl copies of this album, I waited impatiently for a CD version. Likewise, after Fred Neil's disappearance from the folk scene, I waited impatiently for his re-emergence. And now he's gone. To me, he had the best voice of any male folkie, full of energy and sadness, and a guitar style to back it up. I can't say this is his best album - they're all five-star material. (Don't miss "Blues on the Ceiling" from "Bleecker and McDougal," which isn't on his compilation CD.) "Everybody's Talkin'" has a more contemporaty sound, "Bleecker & McDougal" is pure 60's folk. Both are must-haves even at IMPORT prices. Any fan of 60's folk music who hasn't heard Fred Neil yet has a bittersweet surprise in store.

This album not only inspired me when it came out but it came into my mind again some twenty odd years later and inspired an entire book. "The Last Wooden House". Should my book ever become a movie I want Fred Neil to do the sound track and I want "The Dolphins" to be the theme for the public finally as it has been for me all of these years.

...and that's what Fred Neil is. It is a shame what the industy can do do an musical artist and the industry ripped off Fred Neil and that's a darn shame. But, nuff said about that, true fans of music are starting to come around again and maybe Fred Neil will too someday...We Want Fred!

"I'm not the one to tell this world how to get along, I only know that peace will come when all our hate is gone" We love you Fred