Looks at Life

Last updated
Looks at Life
LooksAtLife200.jpg
Studio album by John Hartford
Released 1967
Genre Folk, country, novelty
Label RCA Victor
Producer Felton Jarvis
John Hartford chronology
Looks at Life
(1967)		 Earthwords & Music
(1967)
Alternative cover
LooksAtLifeEarthwords200.JPG
2002 BMG Re-issue

Looks at Life is singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist John Hartford's debut album. It essentially set the pattern for all of his RCA albums over the next four years: a combination of dry wit and superb musicianship, delivered with a warm conversational baritone. This, along with the next five albums, were repackaged in three "twofer" CDs on BMG's Camden Deluxe label in 2002, immediately following his death.

John Hartford American singer-songwriter and musician

John Cowan Hartford was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore. His most successful song is "Gentle on My Mind", which won three Grammy Awards and was listed in "BMI's Top 100 Songs of the Century". Hartford performed with a variety of ensembles throughout his career, and is perhaps best known for his solo performances where he would interchange the guitar, banjo, and fiddle from song to song. He also invented his own shuffle tap dance move, and clogged on an amplified piece of plywood while he played and sang.

RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records, Arista Records, and Epic Records. The label has released multiple genres of music, including pop, classical, rock, hip hop, electronic, R&B, blues, jazz, and country. Its name is derived from the initials of its defunct parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). It was fully acquired by Bertelsmann in 1986, making it a part of Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG); however, RCA Records became a part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, a merger between BMG and Sony Music, in 2004, and was acquired by the latter in 2008, after the dissolution of Sony BMG and the restructuring of Sony Music. It is the second oldest record label in American history, after sister label Columbia Records.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Music critic Richie Unterberger, writing for Allmusic, wrote "Though occasional songs skirted commercial country-pop ("Like Unto a Mockingbird," "Minus the Woman") and novelty tunes ("I Shoulda Wore My Birthday Suit" and the kazoo-laden "Jack's in the Sack"), usually they fell somewhere between the normal and the silly. It wasn't quite as good as the best of his subsequent RCA albums of the late '60s and early '70s, though, as the melodies weren't quite as strong and the production not as elaborate. "The Tall Tall Grass" does give a hint of what was to come..." [1]

Richie Unterberger American writer

Richie Unterberger is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.

Track listing

All songs written by John Hartford.
  1. "I Reckon" – 1:21
  2. "Today" – 3:16
  3. "A Man Smoking a Cigar" – 2:04
  4. "Untangle Your Mind" – 2:03
  5. "Like Unto a Mockingbird" – 2:53
  6. "I Shoulda Wore My Birthday Suit" – 1:51
  7. "The Tall Tall Grass" – 2:26
  8. "Front Porch" – 2:00
  9. "Eve of My Multiplication" – 1:49
  10. "When the Sky Began to Fall" – 3:51
  11. "Corn Cob Blues" – 2:36
  12. "Minus the Woman" – 2:57
  13. "Jack's in the Sack" – 2:09

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References

  1. 1 2 Unterberger, Richie. "Looks at Life > Review". Allmusic . Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  2. ↑ Lankford, Jr., Ronnie D. "Looks at Life/Earthwords & Music > Review". Allmusic . Retrieved June 22, 2011.
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