Dance Band on the Titanic

Harry Chapin

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 1993)
• Original Release Date: 1977
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002H46
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,979 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Chapin Masterpiece, July 14, 1999

By A Customer

I agree with the others on this one. Probably not the best choice for a Chapin starter album, but possibly his best album overall. This is the one album that truly conveys Harry's message. "There Only Was One Choice" is a 14-minute masterpiece that sums up The Book of Chapin to perfection. 'We Grew Up A Little Bit' is an awesome reflection of the strive-to-get-ahead work ethic. While not as deep as much of his other works, I really like 'Country Dreams'. But one of my favorite all-time Chapin pieces, one that I didn't fully appreciate for years, is 'Mercenaries'. Who else but Harry could write such a meaningful song about prostitutes and soldiers? Amazing collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Harry ever did, December 8, 1998

By A Customer

What can I say...this is a sprawling (originally a double album), witty, funny, heart-felt meditation on the onset of middle age and the stock-taking that occurs so often as you hit age 34. My personal favorites include "Mismatches", an interesting reversal of traditional sexual politics, "We Grew Up a Little Bit", a biting image of the gradual crumbling of a marriage, and "Mercenaries", about soldiers and prostitutes and the role each plays. The humor of songs such as "My Old Lady" and "Dance Band on the Titanic" contrast with the final, 14 minute song "There Was Only One Choice" which is a midlife crisis crystalized into a song. I was so glad when this was released on CD, as so many of Harry's albums are only available on record. This is a full, complete work, and though I would agree that "Greatest Stories" is better for the Chapin beginner, with "Cats in the Cradle" and "30,000 Pounds of Bananas", this will always be my favorite work of his.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harry bats 1000, October 11, 2002

By	Erica A. Bardan "eb" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Quite frankly, this is an awesome CD! There is a little bit of everything to hold you're interest. Danceband on the Titanic offers a new perspective on the disaster...and in an upbeat way. There Only Was One Choice is for the true Chapin fan, someone who can appreciate the severity and simplicity that he uses to illustrate his point. And it's just plain fun to sing along to. (all 14 minutes) He throws a quirky spin on the subject of adultry with "My Old Lady" and brings the listener to another, more somber level with We Grew Up a Little Bit. There's not a song on this CD that I don't like. Enjoy the stories.