TOM PAXTON
Best Of The Vanguard Years (Vanguard)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Over the years, Vanguard Records has provided a home for an amazing range of the very best performers of American folk music, and there's no doubt that Tom Paxton is one of the very best. This collection documents two periods when Paxton made contributions to the Vanguard catalog.

The first appearance by Tom Paxton on Vanguard Records occurred before he had a contract with any label. In the midst of the Great Folk Scare of the early sixties, Vanguard was the official label of the legendary Newport Folk Festival, and they captured Paxton on the stages of the festival in 1963 and 1964. The 1963 performance of "The Willing Conscript" was released on one of the packages the festival produced, but there are five previously unreleased performance from 1964 that include some of Tom Paxton's best loved songs and are more than enough reason to add this disc to your collection.

The second tour of duty Paxton performed for Vanguard was in 1977-78, and the remainder of the album consists of songs drawn from the two albums he recorded for the label during that period. As always, the Paxton wit is ample evidence, but he has consistently written with an extremely broad emotional pallette and a strikingly literate sensibility, and the songs from New Songs From The Briarpatch (1977) and Heroes (1978) display his full range.

With 25 tracks, this is a generous helping of Tom Paxton, and he's one of those performer's who you always want to hear a little more of. Paxton is still active, and his latest work is always worth seeking out, but it's great to have these gems from his back catalog back in the racks.

Track List:

Introduction by Pete Seeger * Ramblin' Boy * Bottle Of Wine * The Last Thing On My Mind * Talking Pop Art * Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation * The Willing Conscript * Did You Hear John Hurt? * Pandora's Box * Birds On The Table * Talking Watergate * There Goes The Mountain * Cotton-Eye Joe * You Can Eat Dog Food * You're So Beautiful * Mister Blue/White Bones Of Allende * Born On The Fourth Of July * Presbyterian Boy * A Day In The Country * Anita O.J. * Winter Song * The Death Of Stephen Biko * Hand Me Down My Jogging Shoes * Phil * Not Tonight, Marie

© 2000 - Shaun Dale