Customer Reviews

Live in Chicago

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To my knowledge, this is the Eternal Troubadour's first live album since the (almost) career-destroying "Concert In Fairyland" of '68/'69. If it is, then it's the first one Tiny believed in at the time. "Unplugged" on Tomanna and "Live In London" on Durtro came a bit later, in fact, a previously unreleased live set from *1968* has been announced by Rhino Handmade, so Tiny and his fans should be on familiar grounds.
The New Duncan Imperials are the backup and Tiny seems pleased with their support - he mentions them more than once during the set. Hats off to 'em - they actually managed to stay in sync with the adventurous Mr. Tim.
The opener is nice, "Are You Lonesome Tonight", prefaced by the expected historical narrative. There's a verse included I've never heard, being used to the Presley and Jolson versions. His baritone works well and the monolgue bridge is superbly handled. Tiny is really a master at such business. [Fans check out his "The Great Pretender" from an Australian release for another great spoken part of a song].
"Mother" [aka "Mammy, I'll Sing About You" from the Al Jolson movie "Go Into Your Dance" from '35] is another relevant selection, well performed.
"Tennessee Waltz" will bring a smile, in it's (if you will) Crosbyesque style. Tim does the best early Crosby of anyone. The tune is in a medley "Back In The Saddle" and...hey, that's Tiny.
The Jerry Lee Lewis numbers are okay if you dug his international chart-maker on "Great Balls Of Fire" from way back when. The drummer has some strong moments here, but Tiny's strength remains with melodramatic ballads.
"Tip Toe.."/"Lollipop" [aka "On The Good Ship Lollipop"] is pretty decent. This medley was performed on his first appearance on Rowan and Martin's Laugh In. It's a fun entry. It's a bit of TT nostalgia amidst all the recollections of his own idols from the turn of the century.
"I Believe" is back to baritone and an interesting suggestion of what Jolson might have sounded like doing the tune.
There's a long silent section between the closer "When The Saints Go Marching In" and an actual voice mail message from the star.

There's no doubt about it,Tiny Tim was in a class all by himself.A true novelty performer if there ever was one.I was never even aware of this live CD he had done.I got to see Tiny perform live just months prior to his passing.Even met and hung out with him for a bit.Couldn't believe some of the covers he croons to on this disc until I heard 'em for myself,like Bill Haley&The Comet's "Rock Around The Clock",Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls Of Fire" and specially AC/DC's "Highway To Hell"(sounded like he was almost paying a tribute to Elvis).Plus,I always like hearing his sole hit "Tip Toe Through The Tulips".You got to be in 'the right mood' to thoroughly enjoy this CD.

Tiny Tim LIVE is quite an experience. The shocker is that Tiny took his performing quite seriously. He introduces each song and plays it all 98% straight. Highway to Hell is a stand-out. You get a history lesson before Are You Lonesome Tonight?. The crowd is loud and gives any listener who never saw Tiny Tim live a good idea how great a performer he was. Who else could do a song like Mother on stage and pull it off?. As with other Tiny Tim cds you learn something about these great songs. Sound quality is very good. Brief liner notes are interesting.

Tiny Tim's baritone voice is strong, and his song selection is excellent, but the production value is so poor that the album was ultimately a dissapointment. It sounds like they set up the recorder at the back of the room, so every drunken howl and clanked beer mug comes through loud and clear.

It sounded to me like Tiny was losing his voice by the time he recorded this album. Maybe it is just poor sound quality, but even though he appears to put a lot of effort and power into these songs, his voice sounds like it is wavering and cracking a bit. He sounded hoarse in some of the songs and when he spoke. I found this album listed as "comedy" on one website, but it's not. He delivers the songs straight and you also get a little song history before some of the songs. Tiny was often not taken seriously, but he took himself seriously. This is an album for completists, but if you really want the best of Tiny Tim, get his debut Album (God Bless Tiny Tim) or the album titled Girl. His "classic" Tiptoe Through the Tulips is here on this album, but even his signature song is not effortless; it sounds like he is struggling to sing as he used to in his heyday. You can tell the crowd loves him and he loves the crowd. Too bad he didn't record more albums, as he really was an excellent singer and entertainer and had a wealth of historical knowledge of old songs. Eccentric he was, but a lovable eccentric.