ANDY HILL & RENEE SAFIER
It Takes A Lot To Laugh (Self Released)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

---

You'll have to go on-line ( www.andyandrenee.com)' to pick this one up, but if you're admirer of the songwriting skills of Bob Dylan (i.e., if you're alive and not deaf), then this tribute from the SoCal folkies Andy Hill and Renee Safier is worth the effort.

Drawing on a wide chronological range of the Dylan songbook, Hill and Safier, accompanied by Marty Rifkin on bass, guitar and various slide variations, offer 14 straightforward interpretations. Their selection of material is impeccable and impressive, frequently departing from the obvious in order to include the excellent. Their ten years as a performing duo, and five previous albums largely devoted to Hill's songwriting, contribute to a fine intuitive sense of arrangement, with their voices weaving and blending in just the right ways in all the right spots.

The duo has been throwing Bob Dylan birthday parties for as long as they've been singing together, inviting all comers to arrive in costume and join in the music. They may have trouble getting the sing-a-long going next year, because any guest who has heard this disc is likely to want to just sit back and hear more excellent interpretations from this talented pair.

Track List:

One Too Many Mornings * A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall * It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry * You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go * Don't Think Twice, It's Alright * Simple Twist Of Fate * When The Ship Comes In * Just Like A Woman * Emotionally Yours * It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) * One More Cup Of Coffee * Mama, You've Been On My Mind * Seven Curses * Shooting Star :

© 2001 - Shaun Dale