Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert

This CD includes all the tracks from Tim Hardin's third LP for the Verve/Forecast label (1968) with the addition of four previously unreleased outtakes (# 5, # 14 - 16).

The three latter tracks are outstanding and hold their own against the more sophisticated versions that Hardin would later re-cut for the Columbia label.

The former tune, titled "Turn the Page", sounds average to me. Moreover, it disrupts the original sequencing of the album.

On all of the tracks, Hardin is supported by a crack band of renowned jazz pros turned session musicians (Eddie Gomez, Mike Mainieri, Warren Bernhardt and Donald MacDonald). Lead guitar is played by a little known folk guitarist called Daniel Hankin (who also played on Karen Dalton's first LP).

Ten of the tracks are reprised from the material that Hardin had recorded for his first two Verve/Forecast classic studio albums (Tim Hardin 1 and Tim Hardin 2.) I like these two superb albums very, very much.

However, the reprised songs as performed on Tim Hardin 3 suggest that more room was available to Hardin to use unscored collaborative arrangements created "on the spot" by the supporting musicians and himself (these are usually called "head" arrangements). Thanks to the different arrangements, all these well known songs glow with a wholly new, quietly effective jazzy feel. The plaintive tone of Hardin's voice throughout the album is perfectly suited to the new interpretations.

"Lenny's Tune" is a splendid new tune that is a focal point from this album (Nico would cut it for her first LP (Chelsea Girl) whilst "Danville Dame" is a very good new version of an early demo taped at a 1964 audition for Columbia.

Tim Hardin's views about the importance of jazz in his music are emphasized in the (original) liner notes authored by Down Beat jazz contributor Michael Zwerin. I am convinced that these versions are arguably more in line with Tim Hardin's original perception of the sound that he wanted to achieve to begin with. So, this CD is highly recommended to all those fans who feel moved by the two first Verve/Forecast albums and are ready for another, equally valid presentation.

Listen, for example, to the delicate playing of the supporting musicians on "Green Rocky Rock" and compare it with the original, already good but rockier studio recording on "Tim Hardin 1"; this version is much less overpowering, there is much more "air" left all around the music and Hardin's vocal.

The "live" versions of "Lady Came from Baltimore" and "You Upset the Grace of Living When You Lie" are far less poppy than the original, string-arranged studio recordings from "Tim Hardin 2".

Thanks to Brooks Arthur, a noted engineer and future Grammy award winner, the sound quality is really good with some "sonic bugs" intently inserted to convey the ambience of a real live recording (whatever that is!). There is a severe, but very short, burst of distortion at the beginning of the first track; musical "glitches" appear at various moments into the deeply moving and heartfelt rendering of "Tribute to Lenny Bruce"; rattling guitar strings and cracks in Hardin's voice are heard on the otherwise good "Don't Make Promises That You Can't Keep". This implies, incidentally, that most of the tracks were NOT actually recorded at Town Hall as claimed. The same trick was also used by Verve on the first "live" recording by "The Blues Project" at the same purported location (as reported by Al Kooper himself). All the remaining tracks sound better, feature tighter playing as well as more confident and impressive vocals from Hardin himself.

What we really end up with is more akin to an "unplugged" recording. And mighty fine it is!

This is Tim Hardin as he should be heard. An essential purchase for a long time fan and a good place to start for someone who has never heard him before. Soulful, aching, these songs just ooze feeling and it all come through beautifully on this recording. If you enjoy this then try his Homecoming live album, which is equally good.