Search - Tim Hardin :: Reason to Believe: Best of

Hardin At The Top Of His Game

Gavin B. | St. Louis MO | 02/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tim Hardin was a gifted song craftsman who led a troubled life offstage. The purity of his voice and his unique ability to convey emotion in his singing, make Hardin one of the wonders of popular music in the 1960s. His first two albums are the crown jewels of his recorded legacy. The understated arrangements of the first two albums make him the progenitor of what we now call chamber pop. If you don't beleive that listen to the arrangements and vocals of Stuart Staples of Tindersticks. This Polydor collection of Tim Hardin trumps any of the more expensive anthologies, simply because it contains material only from Tim Hardin 1 and Tim Hardin 2. You don't have to pay big bucks to get a bunch of songs from his later works, many of which are overproduced and wallow in pathos. If you like Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake or Tindersticks, give this album a listen. His nakedly emotional vocals, his tender song writting and the shimmering production values will seduce you."

Excellent collection

Stephen F Mulcahy | United States | 11/11/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"what always staggers me about hardin is the breathtaking beauty and simplicity of his recordings. he was a remarkable songwriter and vocalist, his arrangements are wonderful too. my only complaint about this anthology is that it is too short. it left me craving more and i'll definitely look into more by this unfortunately relatively obscure singer. still, this is a fine introduction to his work. if you like folk/rock/blues/country etc.songwriters of the 60's you'll love tim hardin. just about all of these tracks are first rate."

The essential legacy of Tim Hardin

Robert Haight | Burlington, Kansas | 08/03/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This re-release of the original Verve "Tim Hardin 2" covers the best-known songs of this '60s singer/songwriter. The addition of strings and orchestral arrangement to tunes that are basically coffehouse solos is tasteful, and this collection captures Tim at the height of his short career. His ability to put emotion into his voice makes this album powerful even thirty years after it was recorded. Listen to "Reason to Believe" or "Tribute to Hank Williams" and you understand that Tim, like Hank, "sang from the heart for his fans.""