There Was a Time

Tom Pacheco (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 24, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Appleseed Records
• ASIN: B00006GOE7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,429 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Dirty Linen, April/May 2003

"[A] wonderful, powerful collection of songs that make a difference."

Product Description

Veteran singer-songwriter Tom Pacheco wears his world on his sleeve. In a career spanning more than 35 years, over a dozen albums and 2500 original songs, Pacheco has addressed social and political issues, depicted a gallery of real and imagined characters from the past, present and future, and created a living treasury of unforgettable images. On "There Was a Time," Tom’s twelfth solo album and first American release in six years, he adds still more memorable people, places and events to his songbook, but it’s a darker world that he describes.

Despite an avowed dislike of nostalgia, the death of his mother, serious illness of his father, and loss of three friends in the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11 plunged Pacheco into a period of uncertainty and reflection about the passing of time – many of the songs on "There Was a Time" take stock of what’s vanished from Tom’s and our world and what needs to be recalled and reclaimed.

The songs on this CD express anger, irony and regret at corporate greed ("What About Us"), the betrayal or failure of the American Dream ("There Was a Time," "Indian Prayer," "What We Left Behind," "Saint Christopher and the Cornfield"), and personal loss ("Provincetown," "If I Could Come Back"). But, as Tom writes in the liner notes, "there are still glimmerings of hope and spiritual resurrection" in these and other songs. He honors the brave and inspirational chance-takers among us – "Butterfly" is a tribute to Julia "Butterfly" Hill, who took up residence in a California redwood tree to save the surrounding forest from a lumber company; "Heroes" thanks our professional guardians and their unpaid everyday counterparts called to greatness by emergencies such as 9/11, and the CD ends with the exhortation and challenge, "You Will Never Be Afraid Again."

Pacheco’s stoic, understated baritone and guitar playing are embedded in a warm musical backdrop provided by noted producer/bassist Scott Petito, guitarist Jim Weider and Rick Bell (both latter-day members of The Band), renowned fiddler Jay Ungar, Norwegian country music star and longtime Pacheco collaborator Steinar Albrigtsen on guitar, and special guest Pete Seeger on banjo.

This is a folk album in the best sense, transcending time even while describing the topical and painting mental pictures that will not fade.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There was a Time, March 16, 2003

By 

ron mitchell (corona, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: There Was a Time (Audio CD)

This cd is great if you like a good "story" cd. This is not background music,..you need to pay attention. Tom Pacheco is truly a great songwriter and poet and if you buy one of his cds you're going to buy more.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most beautiful albums you'll ever hear, May 20, 2003

By 

Jeff Wignall "The Joy of Digital Photography" (Stratford, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: There Was a Time (Audio CD)

Tom Pacheco is a wonderful singer and songwriter and this is one of his finest albums. Because he left the United States and moved to Ireland for 10 years during what probably would have been the peak of his American career, Tom is somewhat unknown to U.S. audiences. But he has recorded more than a dozen albums and he's written songs for the likes of Rick Danko, the Band and others. His songs are like wonderful stories set to music and they have an emotional depth and poetic beauty that makes him every bit the equal of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison or Johnny Cash. He's that good.

Tom is back living in the States now and "There Was a Time" is his re-entry into the American album market. This is a splendid album and the title song alone--a song about simplicity and living a simple life--is worth the cost of the album. My favorite song is "Provincetown" and if sad songs make you cry, this one will rip your heart out. "Heroes" is another great song and is a tribute to the many heroes of 9-11. The minute you hear this album youll want your friends to hear it--and that's why I'm writing this review. I want people to hear it.

I do a weekly FM show in Connecticut and I hear a lot of "singer/songwriters" and some of them are very talented, but rarely in my life have I felt as strongly about the talents of a singer as I do about Tom Pacheco. He is an undiscovered diamond and you'll bless the day you found his music.

And I agree with the previous reviewer, once you hear this album, you'll want to find more of his albums. And if you ever get the chance to see him perform in person, make tracks...it will be a night to remember. In an increasingly techno and impersonal world, we tend to hide away from the electric edges of raw emotion--Tom Pacheco reminds us that they are still out there waiting to ignite our hearts and imaginations...and that "there was a time" when simpler things ruled our lives.

Jeff Wignall
WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT
www.wpkn.org

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most beautiful albums you'll ever hear, May 20, 2003

By 

Jeff Wignall "The Joy of Digital Photography" (Stratford, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: There Was a Time (Audio CD)

Tom Pacheco is a wonderful singer and songwriter and this is one of his finest albums. Because he left the United States and moved to Ireland for 10 years during what probably would have been the peak of his American career, Tom is somewhat unknown to U.S. audiences. But he has recorded more than a dozen albums and he's written songs for the likes of Rick Danko, the Band and others. His songs are like wonderful stories set to music and they have an emotional depth and poetic beauty that makes him every bit the equal of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison or Johnny Cash. He's that good.

Tom is back living in the States now and "There Was a Time" is his re-entry into the American album market. This is a splendid album and the title song alone--a song about simplicity and living a simple life--is worth the cost of the album. My favorite song is "Provincetown" and if sad songs make you cry, this one will rip your heart out. "Heroes" is another great song and is a tribute to the many heroes of 9-11. The minute you hear this album youll want your friends to hear it--and that's why I'm writing this review. I want people to hear it.

I do a weekly FM show in Connecticut and I hear a lot of "singer/songwriters" and some of them are very talented, but rarely in my life have I felt as strongly about the talents of a singer as I do about Tom Pacheco. He is an undiscovered diamond and you'll bless the day you found his music.

And I agree with the previous reviewer, once you hear this album, you'll want to find more of his albums. And if you ever get the chance to see him perform in person, make tracks...it will be a night to remember. In an increasingly techno and impersonal world, we tend to hide away from the electric edges of raw emotion--Tom Pacheco reminds us that they are still out there waiting to ignite our hearts and imaginations...and that "there was a time" when simpler things ruled our lives.