Search - Harry Chapin :: Verities & Balderdash

The Incomparable Harry Chapin's First 'Gold Strike'

B.C. Scribe | Brooklyn Center, MN USA | 11/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With the release of 'Heads And Tails' in 1972 Harry Chapin began a successful career of telling significant stories of contemporary times. That initial album contained the fan and early 70's AM radio favorite 'Taxi' which quickly became his signature song. He made a pyrotechnic rise to fame with 1974's 'Verities & Balderdash' which became his best-selling album , reaching number 4 on the American charts, easily becoming a gold record. It's success can be immediately attributed to the number 1 single "Cat's In The Cradle", a ballad about a neglectful and career-oriented father written by Chapin's wife Sandy. Actually, each song on this album (CD) represents Chapin working at the peak of his musical powers, it is an incredible and remarkable achievement - almost classifiable as a musical landmark. Not really a folk singer by definition Chapin's songs reflected that folksy, whimsical charm that nevertheless earned him that classification. He never really won universal acclaim from music critics, mainly because of his combining orchestral arrangements with a standard approach to ballad performances. They also accused him of overly sentimental lyrics and the inclusion of heavy-handed morality. Regardless of this criticism Chapin garnered a devoted following during the 70's, through his exceptional music and his tireless charity work, and still later as a social activist. Chapin was that rare celebrity who put his money where his mouth was, becoming one of the era's most dedicated and compelling forces in effecting aid to the hungry, raising well over 5 million dollars for the cause. Equal parts wistful, poignant, genial, caustic, literate, salient Harry Chapin made a deep impression on people that is still evident today. He made the statement, "Our lives are to be used and thus to be lived as fully as possible. And truly it seems that we are never so alive as when we concern ourselves with other people." In retrospect, for Harry Chapin a life lived was a life explained."

Harry Chapin at his best; get this album for your friends

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 10/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My personal favorite Harry Chapin album, although I continue to have a special place in my heart for "Short Stories" because it was the first Chapin album I owned. Here we have Harry's biggest hit single, "Cat's in the Cradle" and an excellent representation of his songwriting repertoire. "What Made America Famous?" is one of his epic story songs, "She Sings Songs Without Words" a paean to the woman he loves, "I Wanna Learn a Love Song" and "Shooting Star" are about the healing power of love, and for good measure there are Harry's absolutely finest pair of funny songs, "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" and "Six String Orchestra." Granted, except for the last class there are better songs to be found on other albums, but this 1974 album is still an excellent mix. This is truly Harry Chapin at his best. Its only defect is that it does not contain lyrics, but understanding the words has never been a problem when listening to Harry."

An old favorite - great songwriting and singing!

Vitaly Shukin | Downers Grove, IL USA | 07/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I used to own this album, first on both 8-track and then Lp. (Still own the Lp -- 8-track long gone.) Chapin seemed to have something to say to my impressionable mind and since with an 8-track you couldn't fast forward or go to your favorite tune easily, I got to know the album backward and foreward. Cat's Cradle (a sideways nod to Kurt Vonnegut) was a big hit for him (after Taxi) and was fun to listen to. However, his melodizing and lyricism on Halfway to Heaven (a tune that introduced me to the fine edgy electric guitarist John Tropea, who played with Deodato in the 70s), Shooting Star, Vacancy and I Wanna Learn a Love Song, and She Sings Songs Without Words sealed the formative importance of this album upon my impressionable soul. The comic songs got a bit tiresome -- except for "eat your heart out, Eric Clapton" -- but the real songs are the above tunes. They can be listened to over and over. Also, the psychedelic cover art grows on you. One of the best Lps by one of the best folk artists. It's nice that his brother still does one of Harry's tunes at all his public appearances."