Sunday, May 13, 2007

For All My Little Friends



from rhino handmade notes on "God Bless Tiny Tim: The Complete Reprise Recordings"

Born Herbert Khaury in 1932 New York City, falsetto-voiced Vaudevillian cult icon Tiny Tim enjoyed 15 minutes of fame following his hit 1968 version of “Tip-Toe Thru' The Tulips.” He appeared on the debut episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and married Miss Vicki on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, attracting the largest audience in that show's history. He was instantly recognizable with his long, curly hair; prominent nose; and signature ukulele.

In the mid '60s, after performing for years in New York clubs under such names as Larry Love and Barry Dover, Tiny Tim recorded some demos with producer Richard Perry, who would go on to make records for Captain Beefheart, Ringo Starr, Carly Simon, Rod Stewart, and Barbra Streisand. After catching the ear of Reprise Records' Mo Ostin and signing to the label, Tiny was paired with the producer for what would become 1968's God Bless Tiny Tim, which contained the above-mentioned breakout single. Crafted to capture Tiny's Tin Pan Alley charms while also appealing to the mass market, the album combined old songs with flights of fancy and psychedelic studio techniques.

Tiny and Perry quickly got to work on the more straightforward Tiny Tim's 2nd Album, but a small-label release of a shoddy 1962 performance arrived first, putting off fans awaiting the follow-up to God Bless. In any event, Tiny received a warm welcome at London's Royal Albert Hall in October of 1968, performing to a crowd that included all four Beatles plus The Rolling Stones. A children's record, For All My Little Friends, was recorded and released in 1969, but Tiny's contract with Reprise soon expired and was not renewed. He went on to build a 25-year post-Reprise discography that resembles, according to Barry Hansen's liner notes to this release, a “crazy quilt of one-off albums and singles, including some very nice work”

From tinytim.org:
"For All My Little Friends"
Tiny's third and last album for Reprise. This was Tiny's children's album which includes classic versions of "On The Good Ship Lollipop", "Sunshine Cake", and "I'm A Lonesome Little Raindrop" among others. This album was produced by Richard Perry and Gene Shiveley and was released in the summer of 1969. It was nominated for a Grammy but lost out to a Peter, Paul & Mary album.

side A tracklist:
1 On the Good Ship Lollipop 1:59
2 Sunshine Cake 2:12
3 Mickey the Monkey 2:02
4 Hot and Cold Water 0:40
5 Two Times a Day 1:30
6 Chickery Chick 1:44
7 Oliphant the Elephant 0:55
8 I'm a Lonesome Little Raindrop 2:47

side B tracklist:
9 They Always Pick on Me 2:12
10 Aren't You Glad You're You 1:55
11 Sadie the Seal 1:42
12 The Viper 2:06
13 Bill the Buffalo 1:58
14 Remember Your Name and Address 2:15
15 What the World Needs Now Is Love 3:15

Ripped from vinyl, but I didn't do it, so don't know those particulars (hence sides A&B as whole tracks.) No noise reduction. "Original" cd-r used to rip. 320kbps.

2 comments:

Danny Snelson said...

wassonii--!!uossem[awesome!!]

i dig tiny tim as an opening gesture fer a new blog! eager to dl & COIL.

cheers,
j.h c

wassonii said...

thank you. i love this album. don't have the vinyl any more, just this relic. for xmas got the rhino handmade box, but it doesn't have quite the same feel. glad to share.
cheers, lt