Songwriter of the Tear

1. Intro

2. Someday You'll Have Children of Your Own

3. Then I Found You

4. Ghost of Hank Williams

5. Standing Too Close to the Flame

6. Desperate Man

7. Only Thing Missing Is You

8. Drinking Her off My Mind

9. Walls in the House Are Too Thin

10. It's Too Late Now

11. Drink Canada Dry

12. Penny

13. Outro

Songwriter of the Tear,David Allan Coe,Cleveland Int'l,Country,Country & Western,Outlaw Country,Pop

Average customer rating: Stick with "Bleecker & MacDougal" alone wonderfully resonant Voice of a forgotten singer Superb early work Fred Neil's Early Classics & Annoying Voice of Vince Martin

Tear Down the Walls/Bleecker & MacDougal Fred Neil Manufacturer: Wea International ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Blues | Styles | Music Traditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Folk | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Many Sides of Fred Neil The Sky Is Falling: The Complete Live Recordings 1965-1971 Fred Neil Woodsmoke and Oranges/Jack-Knife Gypsy It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best ASIN: B00005OKOR Release Date: 2001-10-29

Tracks:

1. I Know You Rider - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
2. Red Flowers - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
3. Tear Down the Walls - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
4. Weary Blues - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
5. Toy Balloon - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
6. Baby - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
7. Morning Dew - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
8. I'm a Drifter - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
9. Linin' Track - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
10. Wild Child in a World of Trouble - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
11. Dade County Jail - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
12. I Got 'Em - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
13. Lonesome Valley - Vince Martin, Fred Neil
14. Bleecker & MacDougal - Fred Neil
15. Blues on the Ceiling - Fred Neil
16. Sweet Mama - Fred Neil
17. Little Bit of Rain - Fred Neil
18. Country Boy - Fred Neil
19. Other Side of This Life - Fred Neil
20. Mississippi Train - Fred Neil
21. Travelin' Shoes - Fred Neil
22. Water Is Wide - Fred Neil
23. Yonder Comes the Blues - Fred Neil
24. Candy Man - Fred Neil
25. Handful of Gimme - Fred Neil
26. Gone Again - Fred Neil

Album Description

UK two-on-one reissue combines the late folk singer/songwriter's first two albums for Elektra, 'Tear Down The Walls' (1965) & 'Bleeker & MacDougal' (1964), both of which are out-of-print in domestically. 2001.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered Edtion of Two Original Albums Assembled on a Single CD from One of the Most Conscientious Songwriters of the Folk Movement. It was Interpretations by Harry Nilsson that Would Bring Him the Greatest Attention Outside Folkie Circles.

Customer Reviews:

Stick with "Bleecker & MacDougal" alone.......2007-02-07

Fred Neil was definitely one of the more unique figures in the Greenwich Village folk scene. In an era when the worlds of folk and rock were anathema to each other, he turned up with his twelve-string guitar after having committed the heresy of writing a hit rock song (Roy Orbison's "Candy Man," of which Neil's own version is included here), and became as much a mainstay of the scene as anyone.

The second half of this collection shows why. It features some great guitar and harmonica licks alongside Neil's stirring baritone, even working in the occasional electric guitar when folk rock hadn't quite hit the mainstream. Neil's biggest contribution to that genre, "Everybody's Talkin'," was several years away, but already his contribution to the folk revival was just as important as that evocative cover photo showing him on the title corner suggests. It's a four-star album, at least.

The problem with this collection is its first half. Vince Martin's vocals never get any less irritating throughout the album, and then there are the songs themselves. For the most part, the originals sound like the sort of stereotypical folksinging that was parodied so effectively in the movie "A Mighty Wind." The catch is, those songs were supposed to be so bad they were good, while these are meant sincerely. There is a fine line between the sincere and the silly, and an even finer line between poignant and depressing, and most of these songs are quite a way beyond both of those lines. Neil was fresh from his Brill Building stint at the time, and it shows. He still had a lot to learn about his new style, and most of his lyrics here sound like the insincere musings of someone who is trying much too hard to be the New Dylan. The one exception is the title track - "Tear Down the Walls" - but it's been done better elsewhere (notably Judy Collins' live version from a year or so after this one).

Bleecker & MacDougal is now avaiable on its own on CD. Buy that copy, and leave Tear Down the Walls in the obscurity it deserves.

wonderfully resonant Voice of a forgotten singer.......2006-11-21

Fred Neil was the King of the East Village coffee shop, pass-the-hat folksingers in the very early sixties and this 2cd set shows why. Much of his origins and late life are shrouded in rumour and mystery.

Sinatra, Johnny Cash, even Jim Morrison had great baritone voices, but Fred Neil's Sound was really something else. Neil had the most spectacularly deep resonant baritone voice, a voice that would sound wonderful reading the phone book! Everyone idolized him, everyone imitated him, everyone covered his songs: Roy Orbison, The Jefferson Airplane, the Youngbloods, Harry Nilsson, Tim Buckley, Tim Hardin, Judy Henske, John Sebastian, Gram Parsons, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Rush, Roger McGuinn. An unknown, awestruck, social climbing Bob Dylan used to play backup harmonica for Fred Neil and his ringing 12 string in the Village years before these albums. (Dylan mentions this in bio pic "No Direction Home") Fred was one of the main influences on David Crosby, Steven Stills (Crosby, Stills and Nash were going to call themselves "Sons of Neil" before Neil talked them out of it!).
Neil was a Brill Building song writer, like Carol King, for years before venturing out on his own.

The albums burst with early sixtes (there were TWO sixties!) folkie seriousness and energy. There is much more energy and precision here than "The Many Side of Fred Neil" which is also worth having.
The first album with Vince Martin is very closely sung duets of incredible precision, Martin singing tenor, with amazing parasing so they often sound like one singer (until Neil hits a deep, rich low note). Standouts are "I Know you Rider" "Tear down the Walls" "Linin Track".

A line from "Toy Balloon" so impressed Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantner & Grace Slick that it found it's way into "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil", in fact "PoohNeil" is a combination of Winnie the Pooh and the gentle Fred Neil. See also "House at Pooneil Corner".

Yes, "Red Flowers" and "Tear Down the Walls" are a protest songs that aren't sure what they are protesting about, and "Dade County Jail" is embarassingly silly but just listen to the Voice and ignore the lyrics there. (That was the early sixites - optimism and often silly protest.) But the others song are masterpieces.

The second album, Bleeker & MacDougal, gets even better, more bluesy. It is a Neil solo with includes his second most famous song "Other Side of This Life" which was covered by Jefferson Airplane and nearly everyone else. (His most famous is "Everybody's Takin at Me", a hit for Harry Nilsson, and the story on Neil's life. Not included here). "Blues on the Ceiling" has a deep world weary quality to it. "A little bit of Rain" is deeply melancholy. "Sweet Mama" is upbeat with ringing 12 string overtones. When he sings the word "home" on "Bleeker & MacDougal" his voice sets up bass standing waves all over the room! The famous line about dating golddigging women with a "Handful of Gimmie (and a mouthful of much obliged)" found it's way into Tom Rush's "Drop-Down Mama" from the same era. (I don't know if it was Fred Neil's first or not). "Yonder Come the Blues" (dressed in high-heeled shoes)! Not a bad cut on the bluesy second album.

Fred hated the music industry and its commercialism. He dropped out and didn't record for the last 30 years of his life or so, living frugally of the proceeds from "Everybody's Talking at Me", despite offers from Rock Giants to record duets again. Now his incredible talent is forgotten by nearly all but "a small band of admirers (many of them stars in their own right)".

The shy reclusive Fred Neil was the singer's singer. Just listen and let The Voice wash over you. Like deep rich chocolate. he represents the skill and purity of folk, with occational bluesy jazzy tone.

This album is the best example extant of his talent. (Lost somewhere is rumoured a tape of a young Bob Dylan and Fred Neil jamming).

Excellent sound on this import.

Superb early work.......2005-05-06

For anyone who has encountered the work of Fred Neil, nothing more need be said: here's one of our finest singers & songwriters, stretching his creative wings & preparing for full flight. There's truly a timeless quality to his work, a dark richness & depth which speaks to any generation. His own reluctance to take the limelight led to popular neglect of his impressive work & legacy, which continues to this day. But he's definitely not be be overlooked!

I would like to say a few words about the underrated Vince Martin. Today's more cynical view might find the sweetness of his voice & outlook a bit cloying & insincere; but I think the lack is in the contemporary listener. That's easy to understand: how can anyone who wasn't alive in those days really believe that grown men could be so earnest, without a trace of post-modern irony & glibness? But it's important not to forget that sort of open-hearted optimism, especially in these dreary times. In any case, Martin's voice provides a fine counterpoint to Neil's deeper, world-weary tones; and Martin is no slouch as a songwriter himself.

As for the second half of the CD, it's Fred Neil's show all the way, and it's a rich, soulful ride in the company of a quiet master. Follow it up with the 2-disc collection "The Many Sides of Fred Neil," and you'll understand why he was such an influence on an entire generation of singer-songwriters. Excellent, detailed liner notes & vintage photographs add much to the picture of this reclusive creator. Most highly recommended!

Fred Neil's Early Classics & Annoying Voice of Vince Martin.......2004-11-03

This is a beautifully packaged CD. It comes in a nice slip case, and is beautifully mastered. I owned the original vinyl albums and feel that the original recordings have been well served here. Not only are there new liner notes, but the original liner notes of both albums are included as well. Vince Martin's voice is an acquired taste, but Fred's songwriting in his first album "Tear Down the Walls" is still excellent. I particularly enjoyed Fred's compositions "I'm a Drifter", "Weary Blues", "Wild Child in a World of Trouble", "Dade County Jail", and the traditional "Morning Dew". The remaining tracks are from one of the truly great folk albums "Bleecker & MacDougal". There is a uniformity of quality on this album, but highlights include "Blues on the Ceiling", "Little Bit of Rain", "Other Side to This Life", "The Water is Wide", "Yonder Comes the Blues", "Candy Man", and "Handful of Gimmie". Fred is at his best when he plays his blues, his twelve string guitar weaving a tapestry of tonal textures, and his "whiskey and cigarettes" bass voice delivering the lyrics of his thoughtful compositions. Fred Neil was unappreciated in his time by the general public, but he had plenty of admirers like Bob Dylan. If you take the time to listen to his compositions, you will find a reclusive man sharing his innermost emotions & thoughts through his music.

Average customer rating: I'm Satisfied hootenanny annie We won't see their like again! Comment to Stephen Ryder Remembering Freddie

Tear Down the Walls Martin & Neil Manufacturer: Collector's Choice ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Revival | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Bleecker & MacDougal The Sky Is Falling: The Complete Live Recordings 1965-1971 Fred Neil The Many Sides of Fred Neil Tear Down the Walls/Bleecker & MacDougal ASIN: B000060P9I Release Date: 2002-03-12

Tracks:

1. I Know You Rider
2. Red Flowers
3. Tear Down The Walls
4. Weary Blues
5. Toy Balloon
6. Baby
7. Morning Dew
8. I'm A Drifter
9. Linin' Track
10. Wild Child In A World Of Trouble
11. Dade County
12. I Got 'Em
13. Lonesome Valley

Album Description

Fred's debut 1964 release on Elektra with longtime partner Vince Martin! Collector's Choice Music.

Customer Reviews:

I'm Satisfied.......2006-08-16

You Have to give credit, these days to anyone who does what they promise. My order arrived at the price and well within the timeframe promised.

hootenanny annie.......2006-05-14

I am one of the lucky few who was a teenager when folk music first became popular. My dad would take my sister and I to the Flick in Miami and we would drink mocha w/ whipped cream and listen to Fred Neil, Vince Martin, Lynn Gold and other singers.
I've never heard a voice quite as deep and resonant and amazing as Fred's and Vince had this energy on stage that mezmerized the audience. This album takes me back to those times, it's SO good !

We won't see their like again!.......2005-11-17

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.

Comment to Stephen Ryder.......2005-01-21

Harry Nilsson was the artist who did the version of Everybody's talkin'. Definitely not a vastly inferior voice, Fred Neil wrote it, but Nilsson made it a hit. This mistake on your part was probably due to ignorance on the magnificent discography of Harry Nilsson. Nilsson was a huge influence on Lennon and McCartney.There is no comparison between the two artists, they are both great in there own way.

Remembering Freddie.......2003-09-04

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.

Average customer rating: gorgeous music Simply Fantastic

A Tear and a Smile/Strong in the Sun Tir Na Nog Manufacturer: Beat Goes On ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Folk | Styles | Music Britain | British Isles | Europe | International | Styles | Music Ireland | British Isles | Europe | International | Styles | Music Rock | Celtic | International | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music Folk | Imports | Stores | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Tir Na Nog ASIN: B00062YUGM Release Date: 2004-11-04

Tracks:

1. Come and See the Show
2. Down Day
3. When I Came Down
4. Same Thing Happening
5. Bluebottle Stew
6. So Freely
7. Hemisphere
8. Lady Ocean
9. Goodbye My Love
10. Two White Horses
11. Free Ride
12. Whitestone Bridge
13. Teesside
14. Cinema
15. Strong in the Sun
16. Wind Was High
17. In the Morning
18. Love Lost
19. Most Magical
20. Fall of Day

Album Details

Tir Na Nog's Second and Third Records for Chrysalis, Dating from 1972 and 1973.

Customer Reviews:

gorgeous music.......2005-10-28

Just had to put something here because the only (other) review here is so silly as to be kinda useless. These two albums are truly underrated things of utter beauty. Any fans of Donovan, Fairport Convention, Bert Jansch, Pentangle, Trees, Incredible String Band, etc etc would do very well to check these guys out. It is great to see them on CD, and the remastering isn't half bad for BGO, whose reissues I usually hate (to be honest :P )

Simply Fantastic.......2005-05-28

This is definitely a "must have" album if you enjoy egg nog as much as I do...especially at Christmas with lot's of rum or whiskey. You can listen to this cd for weeks on end and not tire of it. Buy it....Cuckoo ForCeltic

Average customer rating: Still smokin'after all these years

Songwriter of the Tear David Allan Coe Manufacturer: Cleveland Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music Similar Items: Recommended for Airplay Unchained/Son of the South: Plus Longhaired Redneck/Rides Again Just Divorced/Darlin' Darlin' Plus Whoopsy Daisy ASIN: B00005ATIO Release Date: 2001-04-24

Tracks:

1. Intro
2. Someday You'll Have Children Of Your Own
3. Then I Found You
4. The Ghost Of Hank Williams
5. Standing Too Close To The Flame
6. Desperate man
7. The Only Thing Missing Is You
8. Drinking Her Off My Mind
9. The Walls In This House Are Too Thin
10. It's Too Late Now
11. Drink Canada Dry
12. The Penny
13. Outro

Customer Reviews:

Still smokin'after all these years.......2001-08-14

DAC latest CD is a beauty, previously available on tour-only CD's. After all these years DAC still knows how the write a good song, listen to The Penny if there's any doubt. Very good album with different styles and good songwriting all the way. Highlights: The Ghost of Hank Williams (re-recording, better than original.) Standing too close to the flame, The Penny, The I found you.

Average customer rating: The previous reviewr is an ignoramus Not for AM listeners classic folk to make your life

A Tear and a Smile Tir Na Nog Manufacturer: Edsel Records UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Folk | Styles | Music Britain | British Isles | Europe | International | Styles | Music Ireland | British Isles | Europe | International | Styles | Music Rock | Celtic | International | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Pop | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000011TF Release Date: 1994-06-16

Tracks:

1. Come And See The Show
2. Down Day
3. When I Came Down
4. The Same Thing Happened
5. Bluebottle Stew
6. So Freely
7. Hemisphere
8. Lady Ocean
9. Goodbye My Love
10. Two White Horses

Customer Reviews:

The previous reviewr is an ignoramus.......2001-08-24

I don't wish to play the pedant, but Tir Na Nog released three albums not two: Tir Na Nog, Strong in the Sun, and a Tear and a Smile. They're all great.

Not for AM listeners.......2001-03-29

This great album is one of the two incredible offerings from this little-known Irish duo. Celtic and contemporary instrumentation, powerful vocals, and compelling lyrics produce musical images that are both beautiful and mystifying. Sometimes silly, often melancholy, always unusual. It is only a matter of time until the Nog achieves Cult status.

classic folk to make your life.......2000-03-26

Tir Na Nog is possibly the most genius folk group from it's era. Crafting together folk guitar, unusually gorgeous harmonies and celtic rythyms with poetic lyrics and string arangements rivaling the beauty of Nick Drake, this album is one you will listen to and love....for life. Each song tells it's own story and simple emotions. A musical escape into green fields and autum landscapes to the darkest hallow of winter. just plain beautiful.

Average customer rating:

I Can Do That Drew Stevens Manufacturer: InnerVoice Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CA6I9U Release Date: 2004-08-24

Tracks:

1. I Can Do That
2. Fate
3. Green Eyes
4. Between Heaven & Earth
5. Behind the Wheel
6. If I Could
7. I Let a Good One Get Away
8. That's My Girl
9. When It's Your Turn
10. Words I Didn't Say

Music Album:

1. Springtime
2. Steve Wariner [Extra tracks] [Original recording remastered]
3. Swing Your Partner: Country Time Square Dance (With Calls)
4. The Best of Collin Raye: Direct Hits
5. The Electric Horseman [Soundtrack]
6. The King & the Father
7. The Man Who Robbed the Bank at Santa Fe
8. The Wilburn Brothers [Import]
9. This Is Gold [Box set] [Import]
10. This Kiss [CD-single]

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