Remembering Freddie
Stephen Ryder | NY, New York, USA | 09/04/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Fred Neil is best (un)known for penning the theme from the award-winning film "MIDNIGHT COWBOY" (Dustin Hoffman/Jon Voigt). That tune "Everybody's Talking" was sung by someone else with a vastly inferior voice. It nonetheless broke out to a hit single and became a standard. Fred recieved no public recognition, as is the American tradition for writers of all stripes, but he got the royalties - and they were significant. His rendition of the famous tune is far better than the popular one.I knew Freddie personally back in 1960, and watched his struggle to morph from his country roots to blues, to folk - to Fred Neil. My whole family attended his performances at the Cafe Wha? and the Bitter End in NYC's Greenwich Village. It was there that this album was recorded. It was Fred's 15 minutes. He deserved more, as the most casual aural perusal of this unique music will amply demonstrate."I've got a secret" is magical and nuanced as only Freddie could do it, and "That's the Bag I'm In" harkens back to the earliest folk/blues syntax and harmonies that spoke to the emergence of that unique fusion of lost cultures that typified the sixties.
Your musical education cannot be complete without an acquaintence with the one and only Fred Neil. This album is just one of his first, not his best work. Get the others as well. Thanks for the memory, Freddie."
We won't see their like again!
Remembering the Grove | 11/16/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I remember Fred and Vince at the Flick in Miami during the 60's. Each was amazing and talented in his own right, but together they created magic. This album captures at least some of the electricity that the blending of their two voices created when you heard them live.
One night Vince was playing at the Flick alone because Fred had done one of his occasional disappearing acts. All of a sudden, as Vince began a song up on stage, Fred's voice filled the small club and meshed with Vince's, causing all of us who knew and appreciated them to catch our breath and hold onto the moment. A little of that is on this disc. Not as much as I would like, but enough to remember the time and the two talents that make this album so special."
GREAT WORK, GREATER TRAGEDY
Remembering the Grove | 12/28/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is an extraordinary piece that exhibits the great talents of Vince Martin, one of America's unsung singer/songwriters. Martin, who not only accompanies Fred Neil on part of the album (two albums placed on one cd), he also wrote the songs performed by Fred Neil.
The trgedy however, is that Vince Martin has not received any royalties based on the rerelease of these albums and this is just unfair. So, while I encourage the purchase of the album for its sheer greatness, I also encourage you to call the distributor and record companies and let them know that you want to make sure that part of the money you pay is going where it belongs, to the great artist, Vince Martin."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1