Customer Reviews

Two Classic Albums from The Limeliters: The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters and Sing Out!

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In the 50s and 60s I was really into folk music. I had all albums from everybody. 40 years later I am buying CDs and reliving my sweet youthful memories. I really believe the Limeliters were the best group of all. All 3 singers played instruments, their harmonies were superb, the accompanying musicians were excellent, their inter-song humor and patter was great, and they could sing songs in a dozen different languages. Seriously excellent entertainers. I saw them live 3 times. The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters, recorded live at the hungry i in San Fran, is the best album the Limeliters ever did, and they were the best group of all the folk singers. Get this CD. You'll be glad you did.

If only the original LP album covers could have been transposed to the CD introduction with the same facility that the music itself was transposed from LP to CD. The print on the reproduction of the original album cover of "The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters" is just too small to enable one to comfortably read the apocryphal story of the hermit in the mountains who had never heard of the Limeliters.

Probably the most obvious reminder that these two albums, transposed onto CD, are "period pieces" occurs in the song "Jehosephat", where a little old lady, rationalizing why she prefers to watch the trio on TV, explains, "You're better in black and white".

But there are also a number of references in songs and promos connected with the Limeliters that demonstrate that the folk music era in which these albums were originally recorded really was substantially purer than our own.

The Limeliters actually once did produce an album called "Our Men in San Francisco". The LP that this particular CD was taken from has a folk song called "Hard Ain't It Hard". Today, it would be unimaginable that such titles could be produced without allusion to a few double, triple, or even quadruple entendres, but the meanings really were entirely innocent and free of multiple entendre intent at the time.

But it isn't as though the Limeliters' unique blend of fine humor and finer folk music doesn't have SOME naughtiness to it. It just doesn't go beyond the snickering peek-into-the-girlie-magazine adolescent humor inherent in "Vicki Dugan", the group's tribute to a contemporary half-dressed actress. That this passes for bawdy humor is a reminder that it's delivered in an era where sex was still allowed a certain amount of mystery.

Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev, and Glenn Yarborough really were a unique fit. As stated in the original introduction to "Sing Out" that accompanies this CD, their voices blended together so well that the three of them really did sound like six. Their personalities - Gottlieb's pompous but self-deprecating professor-like demeanor, Hassilev's wryness, and Yarborough's twinkling-eyed innocence - were also a remarkable fusion on-stage, even if Gottlieb's delivery was sometimes a little overlong to result in a snappy punch line.

The songs themselves, alternating between the serious and the whimsical, are largely traditional American folk, but there's an interesting mixture of foreign influence, as well, culled from such songs as "Curima", "Aravan Aravan", and "Gilgarry Mountain" (originally the Irish melody "Whiskey in the Jar").

But "Pretty Far Out", a story about a man who allows his naiveté to enable his wife to deceive him, while hardly a clunker, is a de-ethnicized and disappointing version of the original Irish song "Seven Drunken Nights". Why the group didn't stay true to the original version of the song is a mystery.

In a less politicized era, the Limeliters could borrow from other cultures without appearing to STRAIN to be "multi-cultural". They could sing relevant "message" songs ("The Time of Man") without appearing to be preachy.

They could even do this without being Commies. It's not difficult to imagine Barbara Streisand or Cher singing "The Time of Man" today, but it is INCONCEIVABLE that either would follow it up with the rollicking Bolshevik-bashing "Harry Pollitt".

And of course, there was and presumably still is the eternal friendly war against the "Kingston Trio". Lovers of good music were the victors in this war. Gottlieb explains in his intro to "Hard Ain't It Hard" how the Kingston Trio was able to make a hit recording out of this song - something that neither Woodie Guthrie nor the Limeliters themselves were able to do - and before breaking into chorus, he ends up by snarling, "Well, we were DELIGHTED!" Oh yeah, I'll bet!

"We'll sing until we die," the Limeliters explain in "Jehosephat". "And after that - Jehosephat - we'll sing up in the sky!" It seems likely enough to me, and I trust that Gottlieb, who left us in 1996, is waiting patiently in the sky for a reunion of the original Limeliters. I can't imagine any three individuals more qualified to sing with the angels or whose music is better suited to keeping its listeners forever young.

Far too many years ago than I like to think about, I was a great fan of folk music, an attraction and appreciation gained by a young pup from watching the weekly Saturday night ABC television show "Hootenanny" (is it ever going to be possible to get THIS fabulous show on DVD?????). This broadcast showcased the likes of Trini Lopez, the Kingston Trio, the New Christy Minstrels, Woody Allen (yes, THAT Woody Allen...who told stand up jokes about neuroses and group therapy between song sets), and numerous others. And the Limelighters. Oh yes, the Limelighters. And God how I loved that group. Yarbrough's tenor was fabulous, and the way Lou and Alex's voices blended with his...and the superb range of their instrumental expertise...made for something magical. There's an old saying,that thus and so was "a sight to behold". Well, at the risk of mangling the Queen's English, the Limelighters were a Sound to "Be-hear". Just awesome.
And one day towards Christmas (of whatever year this was in the 60s), I chanced upon the record "The Slightly Fabulous Limelighters"in a department store rack and saw that it had "The Whistling Gypsy" on it...a song I loved from the "Hootenanny" performances. So I asked for it for Christmas....and GOT IT.

Was an amusing situation, though. My Bible-Belt parents were a bit taken aback by the use of the word "God" in expletive context here and there, but what really jerked their eyeballs open (but delighted me) was the song "Vikki Dougan", about a Hollywood starlet wearing a back-LESS dress out clubbing. Mom and Dad were appalled, but hormonal me was over the moon (especially so when I shortly thereafter discovered the song to be absolutely TRUE and turned up a PHOTO of said Ms. Dougan IN THAT VERY DRESS....taken FROM BEHIND. I was quite taken with it myself).

Loved that album then and have played often it over the years. Now I have it on CD and am so tickled I could scream. I haven't the remotest idea how Ms. Dougan has held up over the years (and likely wouldn't WANT to see her in her backless dress nowadays), but the superlative sound of the Limelighters has held up wonderfully well. That blend of voices and instrumentation that left us openmouthed in delight and tapping our feet and nodding our heads in time to the music is all there in all its glory. Right here. Right now. What a joy!!!

And the double-whammy is...you get "Sing Out" too! Is this cool, or what?

Recording companies who re-release older material would do well to take note of what has been done here. This CD is not merely snitches and snatches from several LPs strung together. Rather, it is two complete albums, exactly as they were, combined into one CD. One of the best tracks is Whistling Gypsy, featuring Glenn Yarbrough. Lou Gottlieb and Alex Hassilev join Yarbrough on most of the other tracks, including Jehosephat, and my personal favorite, Pretty Far Out. Methinks the Limeliters modernized (by 1960s standards) the lyrics a bit on that last one.

if you know the Limeliters, you have to have this one

These are my two favorite Limeliters albums. I was thrilled when I was able to get them together on one CD. The "Slightly Fabulous" album is their best live album by far. It sparkles with their wit and with their harmonies. If I didn't already own it, I would buy it immediately!

I was raised on the Limeliters and other groups of the folk era, and I have not ceased to enjoy the quality of the music. The richness of humor, folklore, and history are qualities that aren't found in music being produced today. The blend of the trio's voices and the simplicity of their instrumentals make this a joy to listen to. I believe it transcends generations and will for many to come. I'm delighted to be able to upgrade from the albums I acquired from my parents to high quality CDs I can play anywhere. I highly recommend this set; even if you think it's dated...it's really not.

It sure was enjoyable to recapture my youth by listening to these two classic albums. I was worried that the music may seem dated but I found the music still fun to listen to even after all these years. I like all kinds of music but must admit I have missed the intellence, harmony and joy of life that The Limelighters personified.

The quality of the CD was great, better sounds than the original records. I have bought several of these double albums and will buy more. They are a great value.

I enjoyed this record as a child growing up during the Sixties. I feel that the Limeliters were on of the greatest folk groups of the era.