Delta Queen Waltz - Van Dyke Parks, Hartford, John
C-H-I-C-K-E-N
The All Golden
Hominy Grove - Van Dyke Parks, Kibber, Martin Fyod
Sailin' Shoes - Van Dyke Parks, George, Lowell
Parks has always been a moonlighter, producing albums by Little Feat and Randy Newman, writing arrangements for U2 and Victoria Williams, and composing film scores. He's also recorded half a dozen albums on his own, but he... more »'s spent most of his career in the shadow of an early failed collaboration: his work as lyricist for Brian Wilson's epic '60s disaster, Smile. Moonlighting, a live recording taken from a 1996 performance, places him in the spotlight's full glare. There may be a 17-piece band behind him, but Parks sings (by his own admission badly) and plays piano throughout, displaying the personality a bitter environmentalist one moment, and then self-assured professor the next-that drives the album. Though he's lived in California since the '60s, Parks was born in Mississippi and even without the drawl he remains a Southerner. That he's a sentimentalist is evident in the Br'er Rabbit-inspired "Jump!" and "Hominy Grove," but he also has an intellectual's appreciation for the past. Occasionally, this leads him astray; listen to his stilted version of Uncle Dave Macon's old folk tune, "C-H-I-C-K-E-N." More often it feels right, especially on a lovely orchestral remake of John Hartford's "Delta Queen Waltz" and a pair of instrumentals inspired by the 19th-century New Orleans composer, Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Moonlighting is a welcome anachronism, with its star reading a Robert Frost poem, singing a song about FDR's trip to the Caribbean before cruiseships, and reinventing Little Feat's "Sailin' Shoes" as a slide-guitar-and-strings art song. Between songs, Parks admits, "This isn't a franchise operation, folks." Thank God for that, not to mention Parks's thin voice and slightly misshapen heart. --Keith Moerer« less
Parks has always been a moonlighter, producing albums by Little Feat and Randy Newman, writing arrangements for U2 and Victoria Williams, and composing film scores. He's also recorded half a dozen albums on his own, but he's spent most of his career in the shadow of an early failed collaboration: his work as lyricist for Brian Wilson's epic '60s disaster, Smile. Moonlighting, a live recording taken from a 1996 performance, places him in the spotlight's full glare. There may be a 17-piece band behind him, but Parks sings (by his own admission badly) and plays piano throughout, displaying the personality a bitter environmentalist one moment, and then self-assured professor the next-that drives the album. Though he's lived in California since the '60s, Parks was born in Mississippi and even without the drawl he remains a Southerner. That he's a sentimentalist is evident in the Br'er Rabbit-inspired "Jump!" and "Hominy Grove," but he also has an intellectual's appreciation for the past. Occasionally, this leads him astray; listen to his stilted version of Uncle Dave Macon's old folk tune, "C-H-I-C-K-E-N." More often it feels right, especially on a lovely orchestral remake of John Hartford's "Delta Queen Waltz" and a pair of instrumentals inspired by the 19th-century New Orleans composer, Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Moonlighting is a welcome anachronism, with its star reading a Robert Frost poem, singing a song about FDR's trip to the Caribbean before cruiseships, and reinventing Little Feat's "Sailin' Shoes" as a slide-guitar-and-strings art song. Between songs, Parks admits, "This isn't a franchise operation, folks." Thank God for that, not to mention Parks's thin voice and slightly misshapen heart. --Keith Moerer
In a world of aluminum and plastic, this is polished wood.
R. Claster | Los Angeles, CA USA | 10/18/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one beautiful album. Ain't nothing synthetic here... just brilliantly crafted and executed music, played by real people on real instruments. Van Dyke is an American Treasure, and should be celebrated as such. Buying and reveling in this album is a good way to start."
The best live album ever?
Robert Storm | Finland | 05/09/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm not a fan of live albums but there's a few live albums I really love, such as Live Killers by Queen and this one. Often the problem in live albums is that there music sounds the same as in studio albums, only worse. On this album the music doesn't sound the same as on the studio albums because Van Dyke Parks has rearranged the songs. Most of them sound even better than on the studio albums. This music has nothing to do with rock. The songs are very old-fashioned, ragtimes, waltzes... Three of the songs are from the album Orange Crate Art which Parks recorded with Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys) as the singer. On this album he sings them himself. His voice isn't as strong as Wilson's but his versions of the songs don't sound worse, just different."
Wonderful
allismile0 | Washington, DC | 11/07/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"fantastic orchestration, shimmering sound quality, and songs that have peculiar but most graceful melodies. Van Dyke Parks has been a behind the scenes guy adding so much to bands as varied as The Beach Boys to U2; but his gift of translating others' songs as well as writing gorgous melodies is distinctly original.
Moonlighting, works as a sort of best-of, covering most of his solo career. Along with great performances, he also spins some history of each song telling a bit of where the inspiration came from, all adding to his unique southern charm. If you enjoy tin pan alley music this is a great album to add to your collection."
A National Treasure
Bernard Perusse | 05/26/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"With five albums that have very little in common, it would have been almost impossible to find a proper introduction to the music of Van Dyke Parks - until now. More than any of his previous releases, this disc explains why Parks's fans are so loyal. Almost tearfully melodic, these compositions --- both his and the obscure ones settled in the public domain --- bring you back, dreamike, to another era. The rearranged Orange Crate Art and Sailin' Shoes are highlights. If you care at all, you'll never be able to remove this from the CD player."
Van Dyke Parks at his best
Paul Kilduff | Baltimore MD USA | 06/29/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've been a fan of Van Dyke Parks since "Song Cycle." It's hard to get people to like his music, though, because his voice is considered irritating by most people. About the first 20 times I heard it, I hated it too. But I had a friend who was really into it, and he kept playing the damned thing. Finally, I started to get it, with "Donovan's Colours." I then gradually came to like the other songs, and now it's one of my all-time favorite albums.
"Moonlighting" is a concert -- man would I like to go to a Van Dyke Parks conert!! -- his voice sounds much, much better in concert than it does in studio recordings. This is a very playful, pretty performance.
I guess VDP is known for his lush, complicated arrangements -- he loves his violins, and many of his orchestrations feature a harp (kind of a neglected instrument). Of course the other thing he's known for is his collaboration with Brian Wilson, which resulted in an album, and ultimately came to a bad end before "Smile" could be produced. He wrote the words to "Heroes and Villains" -- those lyrics are characteristic of his style of writing words, I think.
If you want to try out Van Dyke Parks, I don't think there's a better way to do it than "Moonlighting." This is a very entertaining collection of songs, beautifully orchestrated, and sung really quite pleasantly by the man himself."