1071. Mojo 77. Tim Hardin - Tim Hardin 2 (1967)

Track Listing

1. If I Were a Carpenter
2. Red Balloon
3. Black Sheep Boy
4. Lady Came from Baltimore
5. Baby Close Its Eyes
6. You Upset the Grace of Living When You Lie
7. Speak Like a Child
8. See Where You Are and Get Out
9. It's Hard to Believe in Love for Long
10. Tribute to Hank Williams

Review

So we revisit some songs that Bobby Daring was singing on this list not that long ago, but now we do it with the original songwriter doing it. This usually makes things better, and this album is no exception.

The only exception here is Black Sheep Boy, there is a version by Scott Walker which is just as good if not better, but then you can't really compete with Scott Walker, can you?

If I Were a Carpenter sounds more heartfelt here, particularly because Hardin has much more fragile voice, which makes it all the more touching. It also needs to be said that Hardin is a pretty great guitarist and his use of acoustic guitar throughout is pretty great, so he beats Bobby Darin hands down. Hardin's lyrics are great, as is his singing and playing... what else do you need?

Track Highlights

1. If I Were a Carpenter
2. Black Sheep Boy
3. Red Balloon
4. Tribute to Hank Williams

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Allmusic stated "Tim Hardin 2 is probably his best single album, on which he eschewed blues nearly entirely and forged a distinctive folk-rock voice..."

If I Were a Carpenter: