Customer Reviews

Tango

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

 

 

If you don't know Patty Larkin, this is a great introduction. In this album, she has a great blend of sounds: acoustic, electric and percussive. Her lyrics range from witty through ironic and, at times, they're so on-target that you could cry.

Tango is, I think, her best. Angels Running is a close second. The guitar work in either is excellent, and if you aren't moved by "Chained to These Lovin' Arms", you've never been in love!

This album is really quite exceptional. I disagree with what others have said about Dave's Holiday and Metal Drums, which are both marvelous songs. Though they differ from the melancholy mood of Used to Be and Letter From Vancouver, they add volume to the record, showing the listener the multi-faceted talents of Patty Larkin. And hey, she's even better live!

This is almost a really great album. It includes the gems "Used To Be" about the loneliness of the single bar scene and "Chained To These Loving Arms" a song to remind us that love comes in many shapes and forms. There is always a lot of atmosphere produced into her music but it is always tastefully done with her accomplished guitar playing generally out front. Negatives here include the horrible "Dave's Holiday" and the out of place "Metal Drums". These might of fit in on a totally different record but not on this one where love and relationships are the clear theme.

This was the first album I owned from this consummate storyteller and guitarsmith, and I was blown away by her heartwrenching love songs like 'Chained To These Loving Arms' and the barstool confessional 'Used To Be', as well as tickled by her sense of irony and humor in 'Dave's Holiday'...

I agree with some other reviewers here - it's definitely one of Patty's best albums. Someone should reissue this album and add some bonus demos from those sessions.

As far as folk music goes, Patty Larkin is in a rare class in that she has a beautiful voice and plays a mean guitar. That her songs cover a wide range of tempos, influences and topics puts her in an even more amazing class. Add to this that a significant number of her songs have a poetic subtlety to them that is a special gift no matter the musical genre - and it gives you a true picture of what this woman is all about.

There are four gems in particular on this album:

Dave's Holiday - a hilarious song about a guy named Dave

Chained to These Lovin' Arms - georgeous, slow heart-wrenching song about love which paints touching vignettes of various people in love

Metal Drums - powerful mix of personal tragedy and environmental awareness - about the true story of Baird and McGuire's (and their spinoff W R Grace) chemical polution of the town of Holbrook, Massachusetts where large numbers of people died of cancer. I know few songs that bring something home in the way that this one does - the song is powerful, vivid, moving and hauntingly beautiful, with a mid to up tempo beat, amazing vocal beautry and great lyrics.

Tango - another powerful, stirring song about attraction, love and relationship. This one is pure poetry. A true classic.

I highly recommend checking out Patty Larkin, and finding a way to get your hands on this album.