Customer Reviews

Twistable Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to Shel Silverstein

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A surprising number of people know Shel Silverstein only as an author, cartoonist, poet or the writer of Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue." But when you start to reel off the songs that were hits for other singers, such as the Irish Rovers' "The Unicorn," or Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show's "Sylvia's Mother" and "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," most will see they're more familiar with Silverstein's music than they previously realized. Mention Marianne Faithful's comeback cover of "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" and his work gains a layer of indie cred, and spin them Bobby Bare's Lullabyes, Legends and Lies, and the books and hit singles start to look like commercial peaks atop a vast catalog of artful and endearing music.

This fifteen-song tribute was produced by Bobby Bare Jr. and Sr., whose shared professional acquaintance with Silverstein dates back to a 1974 father-son duet of the Silverstein-penned "Daddy, What If." That song transcends to a new generation as Bare Jr. revisit its heart-tugging lyric of parental love with his daughter Isabelle. Unlike tributes to recording artists, tributes to songwriters can mine the part of their canon that hasn't yet been turned into icons. Better yet, Silverstein's songs are sufficiently rich to merit additional shades when re-interpreted in new contexts. Dr. Dog's Beach Boys-styled production and Four Freshman harmonies, for example, provide an interesting, fresh spin to "The Unicorn."

Bluegrass phenomenon Sarah Jarosz sings "Queen of the Silver Dollar" with a thread-bare sadness that would otherwise seem beyond her eighteen years, and her resigned desolation is deeper than earlier interpretations by Dr. Hook, Emmylou Harris and the Kendalls. Of course, the song's lyrics are so perfectly crafted as to even stand up to Micky Modelle's earlier disco remake. Lucinda Williams sings "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" with the heartbreak, disillusion and wear that few vocalists can hold to a melody. John Prine, Ray Price, Bobby Bare Sr. and Kris Kristofferson each use the age in their voices to texture to their selections, with the latter one-upping Bobby Bare's original take on "The Winner" by adding grizzled old-guy, spit-eyed gumption.

Even "A Boy Named Sue," a song whose clever ending most listeners already know, and whose Johnny Cash performance is a country music classic, is worth another visit. Todd Snider doesn't add anything revolutionary, but he hits the song's tough, sly, wise tone perfectly. Less impressive is Black Francis' take on "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," which hasn't the jug band goofiness of Dr. Hook's original, and the Boxmasters drop the melodrama (and rush the tempo) of "Sylvie's Mother." The album's title track, originally a poem from A Light in the Attic is brought to song with a wonderful melody, vocal and string arrangement by Andrew Bird. This is a fine collection that thoughtfully pairs singers and songs, and a nice way to hear these lovable (and beloved) Shel Silverstein songs. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

I got this as a Father's Day present, and I must say I'm pleasantly surprised by the album. Basically, it's various artists covering more famous versions of the songs. "The Unicorn" for instance is covered by Dr. Dog, and is the lowest point on the album, but new versions of "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," and "Sylvia's Mother" are pleasant variations. "Rolling Stone" is especially fun, sounding more like the way I think Silverstein wanted it to sound as opposed to the wonderfully enthusiastic Dr. Hook verson.

This is a Shel Silverstein tribute album. These are great songs. All the performances are good, some are even great. Kris Kristofferson gives the best performance.

I first became acquainted with Shel's work with his I'M SO GOOD THAT I DON'T HAVE TO BRAG album in about 1966. Later picked up HAIRY JAZZ and INSIDE FOLK SONGS and DRAIN MY BRAIN and loved 'em all. I thought it was neat that the Smothers Brothers did his Boa Constrictor on one of their albums, and a bit funny that The Unicorn was his first covered hit, so different from his usual stuff.

Then Dr. Hook and Bobby Bare doing those albums full of his songs - loved it all.

So I was really excited when I saw this album. But after listening to it, I find that many of the songs are just not as good as the originals (or the original covers).

On MY tribute album, I'd use the Bob Gibson version of Living Legend, the Dr. Hook version of Queen of the Silver Dollar, either the Dr. Hook or the Marianne Faithful version of The Ballad of Lucy Jordan, and especially the Gibson-Camp version of my favorite Silverstein song, Me and Jimmie Rodgers.

And where is Rosalie's Good Eats Cafe? And I Hear America Singing? And A Couple More Years? And ....

On this album, I love John Prine and Nanci Griffith. But most of the others are just a little disappointing.

Sent these on to my "kids" for their kids and we all love Shel and remember him from when we were all young. And this tribute brought back all the joy we had reading his books and recalled the great times we had decades ago. And we all felt like kids again.

In particular Kristofferson, Bird and Jarosz make this compilation notable. Prine's pretty good too. Nothing truly awful but you can give or take the rest.

Purchased this CD for one track only, Kristopherson's 'Winner' that I had heard on the radio, and found the entire album a gem.

While it's nice to see Shel Silverstein get some across the board recognition I can't say this album is as wonderful as I was hoping it would be.
Some nice renditions but, overall, no one brought much more to the songs than the original artists, especially the Dr Hook ones.
Not fond of the bluegrass take on Sylvia's Mother, in particular.
By the way, Rolling Stone was written by Shel for Hook to record and I don't believe he was disappointed with their version one little bit.

I bought the album because I heard a couple of the artists on Bob Edwards show. Some of the songs are excellent , "This guitar for sale" by John Prine and the Giving Tree are my favorites. Others are only OK

I knew about Shel Silverstein as an author; but did not know he wrote songs.