Customer Reviews

Jack-Knife Gypsy

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I was fortunate to get a copy of the "Jack Knife Gypsy" CD last year. Apparently a limited number was produced in Germany. It now appears to be out of production. The "Paul Siebel" CD that came out in 1995 had 5 songs from "Jack Knife Gypsy" but left off several of the best, including "Hillbilly Child", which he allegedly wrote with his friend Linda Ronstadt in mind, and "Legend of the Captain's Daughter", both of which have fabulous lyrics and compelling melodies. Paul Siebel was one of the best singer/songwriters of the 60's and 70's but didn't get the recognition that he deserved. However, he was appreciated by fellow musicians who recorded his songs, among them: Emmylou Harris, Linda Rondstadt, Jerry Jeff Walker, David Bromberg, Bonnie Raitt, Rosalie Sorrels, Kate Wolf, and Leo Kottke. I fell in love with his voice and songs when I bought his first album in the early 1970's and was thrilled to find his music available again on CD. I particularly like his songs, because they are not angst-ridden, self-indulgent drivel, but visual stories that unfold like little motion pictures in your mind. They are often filled with allegorical allusions; for example, the miners in "Jasper and the Miners" may really be about the CIA, FBI, IRS, or any diggers into one's privacy. His voice is unique - kind of raw and pure. I hope the reissue of his albums on CDs will lead to his discovery by new listeners and delight by old fans like me.

I was fortunate to get a copy of this CD before it went out of production. I've been trying to get copies for friends, but now it's not available. The "Paul Siebel" CD issued in 1995 includes all of his first album, "Woodsmoke and Oranges" and five songs from his second album, "Jack Knife Gypsy". It's a shame that it didn't include all of "Jack Knife Gypsy", because all his songs are great. One must really hear all of his songs to get a feeling for Paul Siebel's versatility and song-writing genius. He only recorded two albums, but his songs are memorable: narrative gems, visual stories set to strong melodies with wonderful poetic rhymes. "Pinto Pony" and "Jasper and the Miners" are like little motion pictures that I see in my mind. They are also richly allegorical ("Jasper and the Miners" could be about the FBI/CIA/IRS, or any entity that "digs" into our private information. "Chips are Down" has a very "today" sound that is ripe for a cover by a contemporary group (The Wallflowers come to mind). I can't understand why "Hillbilly Child" wasn't included on the "Paul Siebel" CD - it's such a strong melody with incisive lyrics and reminds me of some of the best work of Hank Williams. It's a shame that Paul Siebel didn't get more recognition during his performing years. Folk music reference books call him legendary. I think it's time for him to be rediscovered while he's still around to enjoy it. I hope this CD becomes available again soon.

Paul Siebel: it brings me back over 25 years, each thuesday-evening a dutch c&w-radioprogram started with Siebel singing "its a long way to Nashville and I've seen that road before". That show made me familiar with JJ Walker, Prine, Buffett, Friedman, Winchester, Axton, etc; I still love them! And I bought and taped singers which later I never heard of again, like Jeffrey Shurtleff, who did great covers of Siebels Honest Sam and Nashville, or John Hambrick (where are they nowadays?). But that's something else. Anyway, Siebel was my favorite then. I bought his second album, jack-knife gypsy, a luxury albumcover, beautiful brown photo, and with lyrics included (quite necessary for a dutch boy to understand what Siebel is singing about!). First I had to get used to his voice on some tracks (like Prayer Song), sounding like a crow, the way old Dylan nowadays "sings". But I did get used to it and the songs more and more grew stronger. To this day I still play the album on my old recordplayer. My favorite tracks are (1) Legend of the CD, (2) JK Gypsy and (3) HB Child. I guess the record doesn't match the quality of the Woodsmoke album, but Siebel-adepts will enjoy it.