Fred Neil - Fred Neil
Fred Neil - Fred Neil
“Originally a singer-songwriter cog in the Brill Building pop machine, Fred Neil and his fathoms-deep baritone soon found a more accommodating setting in the Greenwich Village folk boom of the early '60s. There, he mentored budding young folkies like Bob Dylan, Karen Dalton, Tim Buckley, and David Crosby and released a self-titled album that still resonates in its profundity.” — Andy Beta, Pitchfork
“Whereas many songwriters addressed social issues like the Vietnam war or civil rights in the Sixties, Neil pursued a more idyllic, private world. But even that deeply internal search was subtly informed by the passions of the age. ‘I’m not one to tell this world/How to get along,’ he sings in ‘The Dolphins’. ‘I only know that peace will come/When all hate is gone.’ And when he insists that ‘there’s another side to this life,’ you could easily interpret that to mean that social transformation, as well as personal realization, is possible. But there’s really no point in trying to make Neil a figure of protest. Even his version of ‘Everybody's Talkin'‘ is far more languid than Nilsson's, a daydreamer's evocation of a land beyond trouble and conflict.” — Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone
“The beautifully sad, introspective songs of weary modern urban disaffection that Neil brought to these sessions in 1967 are among the best he ever wrote, and the perfectly balanced electric instrumentation suits them to a T. Neil's calm, wearied basso vocals pull things along here at a decidedly unhurried pace, and the songs themselves seem to drift organically into being as he sings them, until listening to this album begins to feel like floating.” — Steve Leggett, AllMusic
Favourites: The Dolphins • I've Got a Secret (Didn't We Shake Sugaree) • That's the Bag I'm In • Badi-Da • Everybody's Talkin' • Sweet Cocaine
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