[.ca] Tell Tall Tales Legends & Nons

Loved Every Minute of It !:
After years of listening to scratchy,well worn LPs, I was delighted to see these two great musical accomplishments produced on CDs! The extreme talent of the performers in combination and solo is absolutely wonderful. This is not a "backround music" CD. You sit down, relax and savor each track while you take a trip through time.

Just buy it!:
The most pleasant surprise of all my CD purchases this year. The great choral sound, the fun songs to sing along with, and the learning I did about American folk heroes listening to "Land of Giants" was terrific - I'd recommend this CD for anyone with kids or without kids who wants to know more about Paul Bunyan, Casey Jones, Joe Magarac and other folk heroes we seem to have lost along the way. New releases of material from the vaults - particularly "Captain, What Shall I Do?" - are a great bonus. Perfect for playing in the car and sharing with the passengers!

I never expected to find it on CD!:
I first came across the album TALL TALES! LEGENDS & NONSENSE, when I was about 13 years old. It was in a huge stack of my mom's old LPs along with samples of almost any other kind of music you could possibly imagine (southern Gospel, Scott Joplin, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and the Beatles, just to name a few). I looked at the cover and saw everyone standing there in strange costumes. I had never heard of the New Christy Minstrels, nor had I heard of the old Christy Minstrels. In fact, I don't even think I knew at the time what a minstrel was. I was immediately hooked! I immediately recorded it onto a tape so I could listen to it in the car or in my bedroom. I listened to it so much, that the tape got worn out, and by the time compact discs came out, I realized that I would never own this obscure album on CD. I recently saw the movie, A MIGHTY WIND, and loved it. In that movie (which is about New Christy-era folk music), there is a fictional folk group called the New Main Street Singers (obviously a throwback to the New Christies). So my interest was rekindled. After looking up the New Christies (...) I half-expected to find some greatest hits CD that had a few of my old favorites. I was pleasantly surprised to find not only the whole album but another album, LAND OF GIANTS, I had never heard of, plus two unreleased songs. One of the funniest songs I've ever heard is "Susianna". Not quite the song about a woman who cried for a man who came from Alabama with a banjo on his knee. No, this is about...well, why don't you just read it for yourself: Oh, Susianna, Don't mean to cause you pain. You know I love you, honey. But your face would stop a train. "Down to Darby" is a fun Irish drinking-style song which was based on a classic nursery rhyme. "In the Hills of Shiloh" (i.e. the Civil War battle) and "Julianne" are both tragic tales of love, longing, and loss. "Jimmy Grove and Barbara Ellen" is a sweet and beautiful ballad about true love that never dies. If you need more help getting to know the New Christy Minstrels, here's the best way I can describe what little I know of them: Silly, sad, sweet, stupid, playful, nonsensical, haunting, breathtaking, beautiful, poetic -- all rolled into one. It may sound impossible, but I believe they pulled it off.

An Awesome Talent Revisited:
I had to pinch myself to make sure it was true, when I heard that four of my favourite albums of all time were being released on two CD's. While I would have been perfectly happy just to have owned the superb double CD "In Person" and "Presenting the New Christy Minstrels," the pleasure was doubled by the simultaneous release of "Tell Tall Tales" and "Land of Giants." The first album on this CD takes over from where the "In Person" CD ends. It also highlights the creative talents of one of the greatest ensembles of young musicians ever assembled. The diversity of material is as superb and creative as the artistry of these men and women, with quiet melancholy and exquisite harmony giving way to hilariously ribald tracks. Which works better here? There's no answer to that, because there is not a track on either of these albums where the talent disappoints or diminishes. "Tell Tall Tales" will be a true surprise to anyone hearing this album for the first time, and even though it was recorded four decades ago it is as fresh as if the group had just left the recording studio. The second album, "Land of Giants," will impress and enrich you with its patriotry, and its joyous salute to some great Americans and American icons. There are happy songs, and sweet tunes, but just wait until you hear Barry McGuire rip out the dramatic "The Blacksmith of Brandywine." It's unbelievable! Randy Sparks assembled some of the greatest talents of his time when forming the New Christy Minstrels, and these two albums reflect that in abundance. The New Christy Minstrels are legends of the folk era, and if you never hear these albums, you will never, ever know what a truly astonishing event you're missing!

• The Old Timer
• Billy's Mule
• Susianna
• In The Hills Of Shiloh
• Beaucatcher Mountain
• Song Of The Pious Itinerant
• The Cat
• Down To Darby
• Julianne
• Jimmy Grove And Barbara Ellen
• Treasury Of Nonsense Medley
• The Land Of Giants
• Joe Magarac
• John Henry And The Steam Drill
• Paul Bunyan
• Casey Jones
• Stormy
• Mighty Big Ways
• Mount Rushmore
• Blacksmith Of Brandywine
• Natural Man
• Appleseed John
• El Camino Real
• My Name Is Liberty
• Whippoorwill
• Captain (What Shall I Do?)