Customer Reviews

Sing of Our Times/The Honey Wind Blows

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

 

 

I keep this one in the car for those long commutes...a sing-a-long that sure beats getting frustrated at the traffic. It brings back a lot of memories. Fun!

The Brothers Four are one of the longest-surviving folk groups. Fraternity members (hence, "Brothers") at the U. of Washington, they formed in 1956 and had their first professional gig in '58. After early chart success with "Greenfields" and "The Green Leaves of Summer" (from John Wayne's THE ALAMO), this group (like many American acts) was eclipsed in 1964 by the British Invasion. Although chart success has eluded them since the mid-Sixties, the Brothers remain active.

Their "sound" is best described as mellow 4-part harmony with acoustic guitar and banjo back-up. The B4 interpret traditional folk songs and cover modern ballads. They also favor humorous novelties.

SING OF OUR TIMES was released April 1964, THE HONEY WIND BLOWS May '65. Album personnel: Bob Flick (upright bass/baritone vocal), John Paine (guitar/baritone vocal), Mike Kirkland (guitar/banjo/tenor vocal) and Dick Foley (guitar/baritone vocal).

PROGRAM--
SING OF OUR TIMES
[2:23] Long Ago, Far Away-- Dylan song compares the times of Jesus and Lincoln to the '60s.
[2:43] Seven Daffodils-- Romantic Lee Hays ballad tells lover what singer can and can't give her.
[2:09] The Monkey and the Engineer-- Jessie Lee Fuller tall tale about a train wreck averted by a simian.
[3:20] Tomorrow is a Long Time-- Dylan ballad of "if only"s and heart-breaking one-liners.
[2:59] Spring Hill Mining Disaster-- Energetic version of Pete Seeger's song of tragedy.
[3:03] Dance Me a Jig-- Nonsense about two pigs named "Jeff Davis" and "Gen'l Lee" who may soon be breakfast.
[2:58] Take This Hammer-- Protest song answers the Captain's questions when a worker quits.
[2:41] Four Strong Winds-- Typically wistful B4 track has singer leaving his lover even though he doesn't want to.
[2:49] Beans Taste Fine--Shel Silverstein novelty rhetorically asks why a successful man prefers such humble fare.
[2:46] Ballad of Moreton Bay-- Traditional song concerning Welsh prisoners.
[4:20] Plane Wreck at Los Gatos-- "All they will call you is 'deportee'."
[2:16] Daddy Roll 'Em-- Bob Gibson tune doesn't explain why folks refer to him as "Daddy Roll 'Em."


THE HONEY WIND BLOWS
[3:01] House of the Rising Sun-- Upbeat tempo may have been influenced by The Animals' cover.
[2:18] Somewhere-- Lovely, laid-back cover of Leonard Bernstein song is aimed at the Pop charts.
[3:04] Lazy Harry's-- Goofy Aussie-flavored ditty about a place "on the road to Gundagai."
[3:15] Poverty Hill-- Vacationing summer people contrast with struggling farmers.
[2:45] Feed the Birds-- Song from MARY POPPINS is appropriately melancholoy.
[2:39] Nancy O.-- Original LP side-closer is done in the style an old tavern ditty.
[2:35] The Honey Wind Blows-- Introspective title track surpasses those by Glenn Yarbrough and Harry Belafonte.
[2:35] Clean-O-- Banjo-pluckin' Woody Guthrie novelty. ("This record's nice and clean-o!")
[2:18] Turn Around-- Magnificent take on sweet ballad about the rapid passage of time.
[3:56] The Waves Roll Out-- Haunting shipwreck/ghost story by Bob Gibson and Shel Silverstein.
[2:22] Little Play Soldiers-- Song of kids at play is Vietnam influenced. ("Never tell them a lie but never tell them the truth.")
[2:51] Mr. Tambourine Man-- Failed Dylan cover was no competition for the electrified Byrds version.

BONUS: HOOTENANNY Saturday Night-- Theme song of short-lived ABC-TV show is presented in stereo for the first time.

Long ago and far away I had a treasured Columbia LP of The Brothers Four with many of the songs on this CD, plus the marvelous rendering of TBF of "Where have all the flowers gone?", which is NOT INCLUDED now. That's why I cut a star. Anyway, TBF are well reissued in other CDs too, and I recommend them all.

This is the weakest Brothers Four collection I have and the two weakest albums I've heard from them.

Regarding "Sing of Our Times" -- there's nothing better than mediocre in the whole set and "Beans Taste Fine" is ridiculously bad. I can't recommend this album at all.

Regarding "The Honey Wind Blows" -- a mixed bag. This album marks an early move by the Brothers Four from folk music into "easy listening" with their covers of "Somewhere" and "Feed the Birds" -- the performances are nice but they don't have anything to do with folk music. "Cleano" is also ridiculously bad. On the other hand, "Turn Around," "The Waves Roll Out," and "Little Play Soldiers" are as good as anything the Brothers Four ever did. By itself, I could recommend this album.

Together the two albums make a weak collection. I can only recommend the CD for die-hard Brothers Four fans to fill-out their collections.

I have looked for this album for a long time, and was so happy to find it here for a great price.

How I wish they had done more edgy (for the time) music like this rather than drifting into dreadful Lennon/McCarthy covers and soft rock (Have You Never Been Mellow? Are you KIDDING me?). This album shows the BF at their acoustic and harmonic best. Seven Daffodils, Four Strong Winds, Tomorrow is a Long Time and a fabulous rendition of Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man show this group at their peak. This album has no sloppy Greenfields or Green Leaves of Summer - it is hard hitting, and a biting commentary on the times in which it was recorded ("...things like that don't happen no more nowadays - do they?" right after the assassination of JFK). The BF don't get any better than this one. 5 stars.

Very Popular in asia is the following song.

Seven Daffodils

Hard to find in the U.S.

most of the other songs are ok but not for everybody.

I have been an avid folk music fan since the sixties. I love such groups as the Kingston Trio, Limeliters, Peter, Paul, and Mary but believe the Brothers Four have the best combination of voices in the business, and they are very entertaining.

I would strongly recommend this item to lovers of Folk Music.
The album is two LP's from the Sixties and reproduced on CD.
Good music will never fade.