Greatest Stories Live (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: January 22, 1988
• Label: Elektra Entertainment
• UPC: 075596063029
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106698087
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #2692 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #1197 in Rock & Pop (See Top 100 Rock & Pop Bestsellers)
• #851 in General Rock & Pop (See Top 100 General Rock & Pop Bestsellers)

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Beyond his considerable skills as a tunesmith and the charm of his ragged, emotive voice, Harry Chapin was primarily a storyteller, and the appreciative, attentive audience gives GREATEST STORIES LIVE an intimate, fireside feel. With less emphasis on the orchestral arrangements that could detract from the studio work, Chapin and his band play with vigor here, clearly energized by the live setting. The best thing about GREATEST STORIES LIVE, however, is the selection of tunes, which plays to Chapin's penchant for the "point-of-view song."

Chapin's ability to invent a character and narrate the details of his or her life, coloring the scenes with details, metaphors, and literary flourishes is evident on "W.O.L.D.," the story about the life of a disc jockey, and "Mr. Tanner," the tale of a coat cleaner from Dayton, Ohio. Chapin's best-known songs are also here, including "Taxi," a melancholic tale in which old lovers meet by chance, and "Cat's in the Cradle," an emotionally resonant story of an underdeveloped father-son relationship. Each of these display Chapin's trademark skill with deeply human sketches, while "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" shows how fun he could be in concert, making this set the best representation of the artist's strengths as a songwriter and performer.

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