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Track Listings
| 1. Mythical Kings and Iguanas |
| 2. Yada Yada La Scala |
| 3. Lady With The Braid |
| 4. Her Mothers Daughter |
| 5. Angels And Devils The Following Day |
| 6. Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign |
| 7. Lemon Haired Ladies |
| 8. Stone For Bessie Smith |
| 9. The Game |
| 10. Going Home |
| 11. Doppleganger |
| 12. The New Enzyme Detergent Demise Of Ali MacGraw |
| 13. The Talkative Woman And The Two Star General |
| 14. The Altruist And The Needy Case |
| 15. Play It Again, Sam |
| 16. The Earthquake In Los Angeles |
| 17. The Final Flight Of The Hindenburg |
| 18. I Dance And Dance And Smile And Smile |
| 19. The Air Crash In New Jersey |
| 20. Aftershock |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
126 of 128 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
Two 1971 albums for the price of one; the first is a truly great record; the second not so great but still worthy of attention. Mythical Kings & Iguanas deserves to be ranked alongside other highly rated singer-songwriter albums of the same period but, sadly, seems largely forgotten. The title track which tops and tails the album (the reprise incorporating the chorus from Lady With The Braid) is more abstract and nebulous than the eight other songs which are vignettes of life as presumably seen by the writer. Lady With The Braid is a tale of loneliness, a woman imploring a man to stay the night not, one surmises, because she likes him all that much but because she does not want to contemplate another night alone. Angels & Devils The Following Day is about sexual hang ups and is one of the few songs which can legitimately claim to use the "f" word in a completely non gratuitous manner (although it still seemed a mite shocking back in 1971). Her Mother's Daughter is a bleak account of how a clinging mother blights her child's adult life and A Stone For Bessie Smith is about the demise of the recently departed Janis Joplin. Not a lot of laughs to be had, you might think, but Mary C. Brown & The Hollywood Sign (a pithy song covering the same ground lyrically as Bacharach & David's Do You Know The Way To San Jose?) is infused with black humour and the writer's biting wit is also in evidence elsewhere. All of the songs hit the spot and, whilst some (for example, Lemon Haired Ladies) may well be intensely personal, self pity and self indulgence are kept at bay by the objectivity of the writing.
Unfortunately, the same cannot really be said of the second album. Reflections In A Mud Puddle probably seemed like a cool idea at the time and the chilling Doppelganger is an impressive and arresting opener. However, some of the songs do not seem quite as focused and the song suite which covered side two of the original LP is perhaps too personal for the listener to fully identify with it. The album does have its moments, however, and comes as a fascinating bonus bearing in mind that Mythical Kings & Iguanas is worth the price of admission alone.
A final point, the compilation In Search Of Mythical Kings (The UA Years) might seem like a viable alternative but, whilst it does have some worthwile tracks not featured here (notably Beware Of Young Girls) surely it is no substitute for the whole of Mythical Kings & Iguanas. (Also, if I remember rightly, the compilation version of Mary C. Brown & The Hollywood Sign is a different and inferior one.
NG
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
The first of these two albums is a great lost gem. I remember hearing it on a BBC2 special as a young teenager and being immediately arrested by the bittersweet lyrics and beguilingly easy rag-and-folk ambience of the music.
On songs like Lady with the braid and Angels and devils, Dory Previn plays out miniature psychodramas, working through her own self-deceptions and contradictory stances to love, life and growing older with a dark wit and surgical precision. On the surface, these are little seventies cameos [all paisley wallpaper and honey in the coffee] but there's a hidden razor-edge in there which takes you deeper with each listening, and cuts to the bone.
You don't hear much about Dory Previn these days: surely, it's time for a public redisvovery?
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I agree with the previous reviewer Dory needs to be re discovered. This album is a gem i was introduced to her by a friend in the 80's and for many years before you could track her down on the internet carried and old c90 around with me to listen to her. Just buy it and spread the word!
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed bag
I love the songs on 'Mythical Kings' but was a little disappointed by 'Reflections' which were not of the same standard.
Published 4 months ago by Helen Ogilvy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful music
I bought this double CD for one reason - Mythical Kings and Iguanas, an album that I came across and fell in love with instantaneously in the late seventies. Read more
Published 9 months ago by lenfana
5.0 out of 5 stars
an undiscovered delight
i had almost forgotten about dory previn until her untimely death which prompted me to buy her albums and i will now seek out the rest she deserves wider appreciation for a unique... Read more
Published 12 months ago by bedale rover
5.0 out of 5 stars
Real review for Mythical Kings
Loved the CD, the sentiments are so apposite for anyone who has lived in the real world, and such a sense of humour too!
Published 13 months ago by Cool4cats
5.0 out of 5 stars
As good as I remembered
Used to have this on cassette, but player long gone so haven't heard it for years. Just bought on CD & it's like finding an old friend again. Quirky, original, & great listening. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Martin Gilyatt
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Small Point of Difference
Could I just add a vote of confidence for the second album included here - Reflections in a Mud Puddle: Taps, Tremors & Time Steps ? Read more
Published 17 months ago by S. B. Goldstraw
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mythical Kings
Great stuff, brought back many memories, so many I had forgotten where and when it was I obtained the tape from in the first place, but glad I did, thanks.
Published 19 months ago by Deadly1958
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two Timeless Classics from a Fiercely Talented Singer-Songwriter
Dory Previn is one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time, in spite of which her work remains little known and strangely neglected. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2011 by Greywolf
5.0 out of 5 stars
Paradiserediscovered
The Mythical Kings and Iguanas album was one of the first that I ever bought,and has remained one of my favourite singer-songwriter works for the last 30 years. Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2010 by N. Y. Whetstone
5.0 out of 5 stars
Underrated
Dory Previn seems an almost forgotten figure, which is a great shame. This is a fantastic CD, with sensitive, personal songs given interesting and surprising arrangements. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2010 by Dave Gilmour's cat
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