Search - Bob Gibson :: Makin a Mess: Sings Shel Silverstein

ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

Cal Wilson | Fremont, California, USA | 12/03/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is so little of Bob Gibson available that after buying "Joy! Joy! The Young And Wonderful Bob Gibson," I ordered this title just because it was there. What a pleasant surprise! An earlier reviewer only gave this CD 4 stars, because he/she felt Shel Silverstein was a better singer. Baloney! Gibson probably had the best natural voice of any male folksinger of our generation with the possible exception of Cisco Houston or Peter Yarrow.That said, besides "You're Still Gonna Die," several other tracks contained on this collection deserve high marks. "The Man Who Turns The Damn Thing Off And On," "The Golden Kiss," and "Makin' A Mess Of Commercial Success" are incredibly delightful and display the genius of Silverstein at his finest.While Bob Gibson gained fame through his adaptations of folk "standards," the songs on MAKIN' A MESS will not only tickle your funny bone, but several will certainly become folk music legend standards in their own right.For a folk music change-of-pace, try this one."

Oh Gosh, this is gonna' be fun...

Cal Wilson | 01/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, the remark about Shel's voice? That Wasn't Shel...Shel never thought he could sing, so he hired Dennis, who sounds just like Shel. But Shel only sang on the tapes he and Bobby mailed back and forth, [and sometimes not even then] during the nearly forty years of their unique, collaboration. Got it? Everyone makes that mistake, everyone's supposed to... And that's what it was like for twenty-six, grit eating, Krispy-Kreme, song filled days in Joey Bogen's Nashville studio, cutting this, for the aptly named, Asylum. While those two we call Gib-Stein, hung-out, re-writing and then recording, this goofy and wonderful look back at life. Everyone in town came by, Waylon, Johnny Hartford, Chet Atkins, Dolly, and everybody left laughing. Something unusual was clearly happening there in Country/Gospel country... It sure was. from the 50's 'Modernaires' sound backing up "Nothing's Real..." to the stunningly, georgous, "Whistlers and Jugglers" their most personal, intimate song. One that wasn't originally supposed to be on the album, and was recorded after the rest, in one perfect take they called their best, and it was... This album's filled with funny, kodak moments gone berserk. It's a kick in the pants you can hum... Enjoy it - God knows, they did! Perhaps, the best thing about this CD, is that even after he knew his medical outcome, Bobby still wanted to call it, "Still Gonna Die" the album's original title... Only relenting to "Makin' a Mess" as 'nearly as accurate, and a whole lot more fun!'..."