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  Inside Folk Songs August 27, 2008
This is an album that I bought back in the 70's and was pleased to find it in cd format. Shel passed away in the 90's I beleive but his humor and talent lives on....
Thanks for the great service
Dale
Any time of the day June 19, 2008
Great album! I've always been a fan of Shel Silverstein, but for a long time I only knew him through his poetry, which I've enjoyed since I was a kid. Sometime last year I learned that he also made music during his lifetime, and I was eager to find out what it was like. Being that my favorite musicians tend to be the singer/songwriter type like Tom Waits and Bob Dylan, I took to Shel's music immediately. He makes equally personal music, but undertakes it with a level of humor and spirit that is rare. Listening to his albums, it sounds like he is having fun first and making music second. But that's the spirit that Shel approached all of his art with, and his music ended up just as inspired and enjoyable, not to mention as hilarious.
On Inside Folk Songs, Shel offers up a wide variety of material. There are straightforward songs such as "25 Minutes to Go" and "Folk Singer's Blues," which often deal with funny and whimsical subject matter. In the latter, Shel laments how he would love to sing about hard times and chain gangs, but "what do you do when you're young and White and Jewish?" There are shorter pieces such as "Boa Constrictor" and "The Slitheree-Dee;" these two would also be included in his books of poetry. Some of the material is especially satirical, most notably of the hipster lifestyle, such as "Have Another Espresso" and "It Does Not Pay to Be Hip." Though this material does date the album, the most general knowledge of the beat/hipster scene of the time will serve; I find the songs quite enjoyable. I also can't help but find added humor now, living in New York City where a new kind of hipster lifestyle is becoming prominent (of which I would loved to have heard Shel's satirical opinions).
All in all, it's a very enjoyable album for its humor and its lightheartedness. Whether you can find any musical charm in it probably depends on your ear. Shel's voice is deep and gravelly, but the rhythm that he injects into his songs with it is unmistakable. So if you're the type of music fan who "likes Bob Dylan's songs but can't stand listening to him sing them," you might feel the same about Shel. But if you like the sound of his voice, you'll enjoy his music all the more. Though he is only accompanied on this album by himself on acoustic guitar, he would go on to make much more musical albums, such as the country Boy Named Sue, the drug-addled Freakin' at the Freakers Ball (on which he is backed by Dr. Hook), and his last musical album, The Great Conch Train Robbery, which is also backed with a country-type sound.
At last it came out on CD, after so many years waiting June 11, 2008
Thank you! I guess that all of Uncle Shelby's fans have been waiting for this CD for years. I remember the joy I had when I found it on vinyl back in 1975, after having been lookin' for more than 5 years. Now my old vinyl copy is almost worn out, and I did buy a USB grammophone in order to put it on my iPod - that's not necessary anymore! Sometimes when we are partying, we sing them old songs, and now we can do it together with Shel through a clear recording. That's just great!
Still as good as it ever was May 31, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've been hoping that this would show up on CD for years. My vinyl copy didn't make the cross-country trip and it's lack has been a cause for sadness. No more. Uncle Shelby's gentle madness and his spot-on skewering of the folk idiom -- of which I am still a fan -- is available. As soon as I learned of it, I placed my order. All of the material holds up but I was especially glad to have "Blue Eyes" available. I often misquote one of the lines in the song as, "And besides, there's a moat" when referring to objections that just go on. Now I can play the song that inspired it. Also wonderful are the snide shots at hipsters, among whom Shel certainly could be numbered, despite his comments to the contrary. This is a time capsule CD, a journey back to a simpler and happier time and it's a transport of delight.
the essence of shel silverstein April 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a review of the original vinyl LP - I have not yet received the CD so I can't make any comment on the quality of the re-issue.
This album, one of Silverstein's first recordings, captures the essence of his humor and cynicism more than his later recordings, which were heavily influenced by his relative "fame" as a children's writer - fueled primarily by the deserved success of "The Giving Tree". But here is Shel at his raw best. Aside from the songs that were covered by Johnny Cash, The Irish Rovers, Peter Paul and Mary and others, listen to the wonderful self-deprecation in "Folk Singer's Blues".
I've been waiting for this reissue for years. Although some is dated, and the bite isn't as noticeable in these days of anything-goes, here is one of the important links between the 50's beat poets and their 60's disciples such as Zappa and Tuli Kupferberg.
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