Search - Charlie Sizemore :: Story Is the Songs of Tom T Hall

Are you old enough to appreciate this great album?

James D. Ahrens | Minneapolis, MN USA | 12/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When Tom T. Hall was actively recording, I was in High School and College, and listening to things like King Crimson, old Beatles, the Stones, the Dead, and the occasional bit of something like David Bromberg. Hall's songs (with the notable exception of "I Like Beer") were a closed book to me. When I heard them, I thought they were over-produced, overly-sentimental tear jerkers. I saw the country music of the time, with it's "cheatin'" songs and similar conventions as hopelessly old-fashioned and boring. I ignored them to the best of my ability.Then I became a man, "and put away childish things." I became a convert to bluegrass and other roots music, as well as jazz and classical. The old Rock music only comes out when I'm feeling particularly nostalgic. I was listening to the bluegrass show on the radio and heard a wonderful song -- it was "Pamela Brown," from this album. And I had to hear more.When I played the whole album, I was in awe, both of Hall's songwriting, and Sizemore's interpretation. These songs are truly "adult" music, in the sense that you can't understand their truths unless you've lived for a while. When you're young, songs like "I Flew Over Our House Last Night" sound hokey. When you're older, you know how true they are. A person in their teens and early twenties has never felt the pain that comes from being married and attracted to someone else. When you're older, you can understand the contradictions in the narrator's life in "Margie's at the Lincoln Park Inn." And maybe you're old enough to finally appreciate "Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine."Sizemore does a brilliant job with these songs, making them more accessible to those of us who don't appreciate the production styles of the mid 70s. This is great music, wondefully performed, and a marvelous introduction to the songs of a genius I (and I suspect many others) missed the first time around."

The master's stories masterfully sung

Jerome Clark | Canby, Minnesota | 05/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some years ago, when Tom T. Hall recorded a song I'd co-written ("Famous in Missouri," with Robin and Linda Williams), I was flattered that someone of Hall's to-me-godlike talent had looked down from Olympus and gazed with favor on something I'd had a hand in. I still feel that way. Hall is one of the most eloquent humans ever to write a country song, notwithstanding the occasional clunker (e.g., the ghastly "I Love" -- you know, the one with the line about the "little fuzzy ducks"). Though always respected, Hall's genius is only now starting to get the full recognition it so richly merits. These days, his songs are showing up everywhere, on recordings by Alan Jackson (who had a big hit with "Little Bitty"), alt.country artists, and -- especially -- bluegrass bands. Charlie Sizemore's recording, as perfect a tribute as an artist could hope for, will help push the process of Hall-appreciation along. Sizemore's mostly bluegrass treatments frame Hall's songs in lean, spare arrangements, the emphasis on Sizemore's friendly, fully in-charge vocals and on Hall's terrific stories. "I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew" is a simple, yet almost frighteningly affecting, fable about evil in the hearts of seemingly ordinary people. It has all the resonance of an ancient folk song. In another vein altogether, the pastoral "Kentucky in the Morning" celebrates the pleasures of a beloved place. "Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine" violates the rule that a songwriter should never write about songwriting, for which offense all of us are forever in Hall's debt. That song is so sad and true that it makes me cry every time I hear it. The version here starts with Hall himself tackling the first verse; then Sizemore picks up the rest. Though technically Sizemore is the better singer, the two voices are so attuned in spirit that the transition seems purely natural, almost invisible.I could go on and on, but I won't. Let me put it this way: if you love great songs performed with exquisite taste and feeling, you won't want to miss this one."