Customer Reviews

Steve Goodman Tribute

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Steve Goodman was a special performer and songwriter. His unassuming manner, sterling musicianship, sense of humor and exquisite songwriting made him a standout both in concert and in the studio. This concert is a fine tribute from artists who loved him. From his bosom buddy John Prine comes John's "Souvenirs," Steve's great "My Old Man," and a marvelous teaming with Bonnie Raitt on John's "Angel From Montgomery." Ed Holstein who was one of Steve's good friends does "Blues That Steve Taught Me" that's hilarious. One of my favorite Chicago singers is Bonnie Koloc who does a great bluesy rendition of Steve's "I Can't Sleep" with her crystal clear voice gracing each note. Other notables are John Hartford doing his "Gentle On My Mind" and Arlo Guthrie on "All Over the World" and his great hit that Steve wrote, "City of New Orleans" with its sunny "Good morning, America, how are you?" chorus. The number of musicians here like Richie Havens, David Bromberg, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the exquisite Jethro Burns attests to the high regard so many had for Steve. This is a great little walk down memory lane from one of our music's dearest hearts, Steve Goodman. Enjoy!

I played the old 33 until I wore it out. so many artists come together to make this catalogue complete. John Prine's liner notes say it all!

I have owned this album for many years on vinyl, but have enjoyed the music and musicans so much that I decided to up-date to CD. It is a classic!

It was early 1985, or maybe late 1984. I was pregnant with my first son. We would not have missed it for the world. I was listening to this CD just now in the car, and when Arlo Guthrie invites everyone to sing along to City of New Orleans, I started singing - and promptly burst into tears, just like 24 years ago. There will never again be anyone like Steve Goodman, but there were a lot of very talented people who loved him. This is a great CD!

I am cleaning up and getting rid of cassettes which is the version I had of this. I loved the album and haven't heard it for a long time. Before I got rid of the cassette I came here to make sure it was available in CD.

You won't be sorry if you like Steve Goodman's music, you get a real sense of him from the artists... and you won't be sorry if you just like folk music.

...I don't know THAT much about Steve Goodman, despite being a boomer who follows the music of "our generation" pretty closely. I know of course about Arlo and "City of New Orleans" and have heard recordings of Mr. Goodman performing it himself. (I'm not hallucinating that, am I?) I am familiar with most of the performers here.

However, my sole motivation for buying this CD this morning was the intent to own a hard copy of David Bromberg's jaw-dropping performance of "I Will Not Be Your Fool". I've had that recording as an mp3 of unknown sourcing for years, and one more listen en route to work this morning made up my mind that I need to have it in a version of the highest quality possible. I listened to samples of all the other source CDs of Bromberg doing this song live, and settled on this album as being the source of the mp3 I've cherished for years.

Looking forward to owning it with absolute legitimacy, and in CD-quality, and looking forward to the other performances by the other extremely reputable artists on this album.

In general, this is a top-notch concert album and a very worthwhile tribute to an American original, Steve Goodman. There are many sterling performances in it, and it is worth buying and listening to.

Kudos especially go to Jethro Burns for sharing his memories of touring with Steve Goodman, and his performance of "The Lady Is A Tramp." Bonnie Koloc contributes the concert's greatest vocal performance with a cover of Goodman's "I Can't Sleep," which she also recorded on her first Epic album. Other great performances include John Prine's "Souvenirs" and "My Old Man," Prine's duet with Bonnie Raitt on "Angel From Montgomery," John Hartford performing his classic "Gentle On My Mind," Ed Holstein's "Blues That Steve Taught Me," Michael Smith's "The Dutchman," and David Amram's "The Water Is Wide." These are all great five-star performances.

However, David Bromberg uses the word "faggot" in his performance, and that spoiled the album for me. The fact that this record was released on Goodman's self-created independent label, Red Pajamas Records, makes me question if he himself would have approved of such a hateful slur being used. It reminded me of Arlo Guthrie's use of the word in "Alice's Restaurant," which I cannot listen to anymore. (Guthrie himself is represented on two tracks on this record, including Goodman's classic "City Of New Orleans.")

So there you have my review. What would have been a 4-star review became a 3-star, thanks to David Bromberg.

If you were a Steve Goodman fan -- or if you've never heard of him but love the raw beauty and honesty of this musical genre -- this is a must-have. With warm reminiscenses of friends like John Prine and Arlo Guthrie and the powerful singing of so many greats, this recording of a tribute concert is a treasure. Makes you sad that this artist died so young... some fine music we will never hear.

Steve Bromberg's cut ("...Fool") is the greatest. I, too, wore out a 33 of this. Now the CD.

The old Chicago folk music scene is gone, The Earl and Ratso's and The Bulls are gone, and Stevie Goodman is gone, too; but the music lives on. Those who remember The Earl of Old Town back in the '60s and '70s will smile warmly listening to this collection -- nearly all the tracks are well and fondly done, with one **HUGE** exception: the abortion that Arlo Guthrie made of "City Of New Orleans."

I still cringe whenever I hear Guthrie's deliberate mistake and want to sing over it correctly (and sometimes do -- loudly, hoping to drown him out). Guthrie may have had a hit single in that song, but he has ***NO PLACE*** here. His tracks are the sole reason I give this recording three stars instead of five. He never did fit at the Earl, was never a regular there (being an East Coaster and all that), and he doesn't fit here, either. Not only did Guthrie again botch the melody line of the chorus on "City Of New Orleans" (as usual), but he's **never once** sung it correctly. Moreover, his overblown, commercialized take on the tune subverted and obscured what the song was actually about. It's not a happy, bouncy tune, although you'd never guess that from Arlo's version; more like a plea for recognition and hope in the face of faded dreams and bitter, worn-down realities. Including Guthrie and his persistent error in this remembrance of Goodman is like preferring Judy Collins's over-orchestrated, gussied-up versions of Chelsea Morning and Both Sides Now to the spare, thoughtful originals written and recorded by Joni Mitchell: the commercial versions are parodies of the originals, all the more so because they weren't intended as such but are anyway. No doubt that both Mitchell and Goodman enjoyed walking to the bank with the royalties, but the bitter price is that so many fewer people heard the originals and, in fact, may not even have known about the actual authors if not for the commercialized hits -- and even worse, many still think Guthrie and Collins, respectively, actually wrote those tunes. Talk about insult -- !

For the longest time, few people outside either Chicago or the folk music idiom knew about Stevie Goodman, but we here in town did, and we loved him. He was our very own "folk-slinger," a likeable, irreverent favorite son who seemed to have lyrics for nearly every occasion. He was witter and more charming in person than most people knew, and he could tell a good yarn with the best of raconteurs. Besides, we understood all the local inside jokes on tunes like Lincoln Park Pirates. Goodman was prolific, too (much of his stuff wasn't recorded, including, I believe, one or two he co-wrote with Jimmy Buffett when nobody else knew about *him*, either). While Stevie sang about that train years ago at the Earl, I was riding it back and forth to and from Champaign-Urbana, where I attended the University of Illinois and wallowed in the folk scene there. I have memories of that worn-down, dingy train, the forgotten towns along the track, the few conductors, the 11th Street station on Michigan Avenue that is long since gone, and most of those memories are bittersweet, as is the song. Arlo Guthrie never grasped that, though I suspect Woody Guthrie surely would have.

The best tribute to Steve Goodman that one can make is to let him sing that song himself. After all the live and collaborative versions, recorded and not, I prefer the original on Goodman's self-titled album. That was the Stevie Goodman I recall (and yes, his ashes really ARE buried in his beloved Wrigley Field: he's ours forever). Consequently, the most fitting thing *you* can do is skip or edit out Arlo's tracks and include Goodman's instead. Then the old Earl Of Old Town crew will all be together again at last. That really *would* be worth five stars.