Me Oh My How the Time Does Fly

John Hartford | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 29, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder / Umgd
• ASIN: B000000MLB
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,994 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #43 in Music > Indie Music > Country > Traditional Country
  • #89 in Music > Indie Music > Folk > Traditional Folk

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This 18-song compilation serves as a useful introduction to John Hartford's quirky, modern old-time music. Culled from his Flying Fish period (1976-87), the set includes solo banjo and fiddle forays, odes to his beloved riverboats (and the fifth-grade teacher who turned him on to them), picking sessions with Nashville's top men (Buddy Emmons, Sam Bush, Bennie Martin, Roy Husky Jr., and more), laments for days gone by, and even a reading of "Gentle on My Mind"--the hit that facilitated this entire off-kilter musical vision. Whether through a nifty instrumental turn, a poignant lyric, or an annoying novelty tune, Hartford knows how to strike a nerve. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than an Hour's Worth of John Hartford Magic, June 13, 2001

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Me Oh My How the Time Does Fly (Audio CD)

This is as much a eulogy for one of my favorite artists--he died June 4--as it is a recommendation of this Flying Fish anthology. John Hartford was a true Renaissance man. He was a songwriter, accomplished musician (banjo, fiddle, guitar), author ("Steamboat in a Cornfield") and riverboat pilot. He was also unmoved by musical trends that could have made him a household name back when Glen Campbell made Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind" a country and pop hit. But the money from that song--his obituary said it has been played on the radio six million times--provided Hartford with the financial security to forsake mainstream success and pursue his own muse.

So what Hartford did for more than thirty years was release more than a dozen quirky albums that were, if nothing else, honest reflections of a wonderful storyteller. This collection touches bases with nearly every album--nine in all--that Hartford recorded for Flying Fish beginning with 1976's Mark Twang through 1984's Gum Tree Canoe. [The only album not represented is 1972's Morning Bugle, which is now available on Rounder. The version of "Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore" is a live recording from 1977's The Festival Tapes where Hartford is backed by the Newgrass Revival.]

Hartford wrote fourteen of the tracks here and co-wrote another two. [The only two non-originals are "Gum Tree Canoe" and "Bear Creek Hop."] The list of musicians reads like a bluegrass Who's Who: Benny Martin, Buddy Emmons, Doug and Rodney Dillard, Mac Wiseman, Jerry Douglas, Mark O'Connor, Roy Husky--the list goes on and on. For the most part the song selection steers away from his overtly off-beat numbers, except for "Boogie" and the nostalgic "Good Old Elctric Washing Machine-circa 1943," where he does an admirable washing machine impression. Additional highlights include "Skippin' in the Mississippi Dew" and his own version of "Gentle on My Mind."

At 18 tracks and sixty-four minutes this is a marvelous collection from perhaps his most fertile period. I already owned nearly a dozen albums on vinyl, but this and 1971's Aereo-Plain made my CD upgrade list.

The closing track, "I'm Still Here," now takes on a new meaning. Mark Twain once wrote, "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." While I will miss John Hartford the artist, I will continue to savor his music. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars John John John John John, August 14, 2000

By 

Collin E Waltner (Freeman, SD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Me Oh My How the Time Does Fly (Audio CD)

This is simply a best of album of my hero, John Hartford. If you like absolutely EVERYTHING that John Hartford does, then you will like this album. But I am warning you, if you are some sort of staunch genre purist, this may not be it for you. There is some folksy stuff as well as country and seventies rock sounding numbers. If you are looking for a very good luegrass CD, may I suggest John Hartford Live at the Mountian Stage

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hartford Delivers on the Rivers...., August 30, 2006

By 

Ozone Ranger (San Jose, Ca USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Me Oh My How the Time Does Fly (Audio CD)

The late, great John Hartford was an American treasure, indeed. Thank god for recordings, because we can all enjoy his fine work even though he's piloting that big ol' sternwheeler in the sky. This anthology successfully captures his fascination with riverboats and the people whose lives were also affected by them, as well as exposing his quirky musical visions, like "Tall Buildings" and "Boogie". His excellence on the banjo and fiddle is plainly heard on tracks like "Skippin in the Mississippi Dew", "Bear Creek Hop" and "Let Him Roll". This great album reminds us all of what we've lost in this truly unique American musician, but also how much fun music can be. Dig it....