The Essentials (CD)

New York singer-songwriter Harry Chapin earned a reputation as a tireless performer and a remarkably generous man who toured the country constantly, and gave an unheard-of percentage of his performance earnings to charity. Chapin's most memorable tunes, including million-sellers like "Taxi" and "Cats in the Cradle," were story songs delivered in a soulful rasp, in which he sang of missed opportunities and dreams that don't come true. Although critics found his music pretentious or sentimental, Chapin was a huge success in the '70s. When he lost his life in a 1981 traffic accident, the outpouring of emotion from around the world testified to just how much the man and his music were revered.

• Category:  Music  »  Rock & Pop  »  General Rock & Pop
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: July 2, 2002
• Label: Elektra Entertainment
• UPC: 081227606121
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106394817
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #22252 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #7915 in Rock & Pop (See Top 100 Rock & Pop Bestsellers)
• #4982 in General Rock & Pop (See Top 100 General Rock & Pop Bestsellers)

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Recorded between 1972 and 1980. Includes liner notes by Barry Alfonso.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Harry Chapin's skills as a songwriter include a strong narrative sense, a detail-centered approach to scene, and a deft ability with characterization. In a sense, Chapin is a writer of musical short stories, and these qualities are in ample evidence on THE ESSENTIALS. "Taxi," the lead-off track here and Chapin's first hit, is a tale of a cabbie's chance meeting with an old lover, and sports interesting string arrangements and a reflective, melancholic atmosphere. "W*O*L*D" is the story of an aimless disc jockey, while "30,000 Pounds of Bananas," a comic song, tells of a fruit deliveryman's slippery accident.

Despite his story-like verses, Chapin's choruses are often quite catchy, as on the hopeful "I Wanna Learn a Love Song" and the sprightly "Dreams Go By." The finest example of the story-song mix is probably "Cat's in the Cradle," Chapin's most known and emotionally resonant song. A heart-tugging tale of a underdeveloped father-son relationship, the tune was a huge hit and is still much-loved decades after its release. Like GREATEST STORIES LIVE (another fine Chapin sampler), THE ESSENTIALS hand-picks the artist's finest songs, and testifies to his status as one of the most popular singer/songwriters of the 1970s.

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