Customer Reviews

God Bless Tiny Tim: The Complete Reprise Studio Masters... And More

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Tiny Tim had an encyclopedic knowledge of American popular music from the 1890s to the 1950s, and could sing most anything you asked for right on the spot, with a perfect feel for the song, the era it came from, and the singers who sang it back then. On TV, he was a living, breathing color cartoon. He was instantly recognizable and unforgetable, with his long, curly hair, prominent nose, and that dainty ukelele that was dwarfed by his imposing 6' 1" frame. His exaggerated politeness--he called everyone "Mister" or "Miss"--was oddly endearing. And then there was his singing voice, absolutely unique, especially when he went into his unearthly falsetto. Americans were charmed by the fabulous old songs he sang, of course. He fit right into the nostalgic vogue for '20s and '30s style pop music that took place in the '60s, as exemplified by "Winchester Cathedral".

This 3 CD collection features Tiny Tim's complete Reprise studio masters and more. It is a limited edition of 3,000.

Disc One features his first album, God Bless Tiny Tim, which is quite wonderful. This album was a big hit back in the day. The disc also features many non-LP singles, as well as a few singles that had been on one of his albums, in a different mix. Most of these singles are also quite good.

Disc Two features Tiny's second and third albums. Album two was titled Tiny Tim's Second Album, somewhat unimaginatively. This is another terrific album, that unfortunately didn't sell. His third album was a children's album titled For All My Little Friends. This one didn't sell, either. This is a good album, but not nearly as good as the previous two. This is probably because Richard Perry, the producer of Tiny's first two albums, was unavailable to produce most of the album. Perry came up with some imaginative arrangements on Tiny's earlier albums, but Gene Shiveley, who produced most of the children's album, seemed content to just feature Tiny alone with his ukelele. I should mention that "The Viper", from Tiny's first album, is repeated here and it's the same version, not a new recording.

Disc Three begins with five previously unreleased masters, plus four radio commercials for Tiny's first album. These masters are about as good as anything else he recorded for Reprise, so it's a mystery why they weren't released. The bulk of the disc features many, many demos that Tiny recorded. Most of these demos were recorded as songs considered to possibly be included on his children's album. Nearly all of them just feature Tiny and his ukelele. These aren't all the demos he recorded for Reprise, a few were left off because there wasn't enough room for them.

This collection is a most have for any Tiny Tim fan. (All 3,000 of us!)

This boxed set is a blessing! While Tiny Tim's first is a well known classic, his other recordings with the great producer Richard Perry are equally amazing. His version of "Great Balls Of Fire" off of his 2nd record is incredible and completely over the top! And if you like reading, Barry Hansen's liner notes are wonderful (what else would you expect from Dr. Demento).

If you love Tiny, you'll love this set. And if you have a roommate who doesn't love Tiny, this is the perfect collection to bug the hell out them and eventually drive them crazy! Yeah!

Tiny Tim was one of the greatest talents of his era but was not appreciated by the general public because he was presented only as a comedy routine with his irritating falsetto voice. On the cds in this set, you can hear him sing in a wonderful baritone register and enjoy one of the greatest ever versions of "As Time Goes By" which includes the seldom-heard verse as well as country versions of "Satiisfied With Life" and "Have You Seen My Little Sue?". "Frisco Flo" is a Dixieland number with a fantastic jazz band. There are versions of "I'm A Lonesome Little Raindrop" and "Remember Your Name And Address" that would have been better in a lower key but one gets the feeling that Tiny felt the need to live up to the expectations of the general audience for the very high and irritating effect.

The definitive last word on Tiny's Reprise era? Not quite, but then, there's (alas) limited appeal in his recordings...to a point. Conversely, I don't EVER see Capitol releasing an equivalent box set of Mrs. Miller's recordings (Bear Family might take the dare) for obvious reasons! As stated in Dr. Demento's liner notes, he was a unique historian of music from the late 1800s through the 1950s: moreso because he was a PERFORMER of this material years before the nostalgia craze of the latter 1960s hit. Before "Winchester Cathedral", before "Hello, Hello", there was this tall, odd-looking man with the one-of-a-kind voice (this ukelele player was NO Arthur Godfrey, thank the Lord!)....All the recordings are expertly remastered by Dan Hersch; still, some tape hiss is noticeable in some spots more than others, but it's inevitable given the era in which this was all recorded. Casual listeners will pass on this as it is an investment, whether at retail OR at sale price! (Those who might want to download any of Tiny's Reprise LPs off Amazon can NOW do so, because as of December 15, 2009, this set became available for MP3 download. All the MUSIC costs a fraction of the BOX SET itself! "Cherry pick" your favorite tracks or grab every last song from this set for the BEST sound; the experience WON'T be the same without the booklet, however. WARNING: the previously-reissued downloads of Tiny's 1st and 3rd LPs on Amazon are BOTH record dubs.) This release is as much for fans of Mr. Tim as it is for followers of Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee, Al Jolson and other vintage recording artists of the early 20th century, not to mention followers of songwriters long lost to history....I wouldn't mind if this set had a FOURTH disc covering the demos that couldn't fit onto three CDs, plus ANY outtakes that featured just Tiny TALKING! Regardless, Rhino Handmade has given Tiny Tim's admirers a collection of recordings that's best described as an INHERITANCE (or, in my case, a Christmas present)!...All the best, Brother Fang.

You either like him or you find him a curiosity... but if you like Tiny Tim this a great set. Unfortunately, only 3,000 copies were pressed by Rhino Handmade. I don't foresee this selling out anytime soon, but this is definitely worth buying if you're a fan of this genius. Yes, I said "genius." Tiny Tim knew A LOT about music and his love of old music was evident in his recordings and shows.

A nice bonus for me was the inclusion of the mono single version of "Tiptoe Through The Tulips." The original album tracks crossfade into each other and it kind of bugged me over the years. The cd maintains the crossfades and original album sequencing, but the included single tracks offer the songs without the crossfades. A minor quibble sure, but what do you expect from someone who would shell out the dough for this set? =)

Well I can't add anything to the wonderful reviews below, but I have a piece of advice for anyone who's looking to buy this; If you type Tiny Tim on google search, then click the first link that shows up, you'll be led to Tiny's Memorial site. If you go to the home page and scroll down, you'll find an announcement about this collection and a link to Rhino records, where they are selling brand new copies for $59.98. I purchased my copy here for quite a hefty sum, so I feel that all potential buyers ought to know you can get it cheaper.

Best introduction to the artist of tiny tim.
This is one of the best boxset I ever purchased.
You get three albums , b sides , few ads and tons of unreleased recordings.
107 tracks on 3 cds remastered.
Amazing job on the packaging only 3,000 made.

Many years ago Entertainment Tonight closed their show with a performance by Tiny Tim. It was a country song about lost love and regret but the one line I remember, and has me searching endlessly is, "...but if you're going to leave me, leave me satisfied."
A little help will be appreciated.

TT recorded a song with the refrain (if not the title) "The icecaps are melting." I think it was on God Bless Tiny Tim. That title doesn't show up in the track list on AMZN or on RhinoHandMade.com's track list (Rhino also sells the box set). Does anyone know what happened to that song? Am I mis-remembering the title?