Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute To The Songs Of Shel Silverstein

Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute To The Songs Of Shel Silverstein

Overview

The late, multi-talented Shel Silverstein distinguished himself in so many different areas -- cartoons, children's books, screenplays, poems -- that his stellar songwriting sometimes gets overlooked. But in the '60s and '70s, he found success writing for both rock and country artists, most notably Johnny Cash, Bobby Bare, and Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, and was surely tickled by his place on the very short list of Jewish outlaw country pioneers. This all-star tribute to Silverstein's songs captures the poetry, the humor, and the pure emotion that made his catalog such a fertile source of material for other artists. Though he made a handful of album under his own name, Silverstein was never much of a singer -- honestly, he made Kris Kristofferson sound like Conway Twitty -- so there's none of that feeling one sometimes gets from a tribute album in which no one can sing the tunes like the honoree. Of course, the best-known versions of some of these songs are pretty iconic nevertheless, but almost everything is done justice here. Naturally, no one can live up to Johnny Cash's charismatic recording of "A Boy Named Sue," but the loose-limbed vibe Todd Snider brings to the tune feels like a natural fit. Likewise, Black Francis and Joey Santiago of the Pixies attack the old Dr. Hook hit "The Cover of the Rolling Stone" with so much gleeful sonic savagery that it stands up admirably alongside the original. Bobby Bare was one of the most consistent and perfectly suited interpreters of Silverstein's material -- some of Bare's best albums were written in their entirety by Silverstein -- but John Prine and Kris Kristofferson sound so at home in the Bare-associated "This Guitar Is for Sale" and "The Winner," respectively, that one might dare to think there are still new roads for these songs to travel. And even if your tolerance of kid-oriented tunes like "The Giving Tree" and the saccharine "Daddy What If" -- Silverstein was, after all, a hugely successful children's author -- is limited, there are only a couple of those moments to be skipped over on an otherwise impressive collection.

Product Details

Release Date: 06/08/2010
Label: Sugarhill
UPC: 0015891405124
catalogNumber: 14051
Rank: 70047

Tracks

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bobby Bare   Background Vocals
Sam Bush   Mandolin
Nanci Griffith   Vocals
John Prine   Acoustic Guitar,Vocals
Chip Young   Acoustic Guitar
Dennis Crouch   Bass
Mike Doster   Bass
Black Francis   Vocals
Paul Griffith   Drums
Jamie Hartford   Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar
Pat McInerney   Percussion,Drums
Matt McKenzie   Bass
Tim O'Brien   Vocal Harmony
Joey Santiago   Guitar
Eric Schermerhorn   Electric Guitar
David Sutton   Bass
Pete Wasner   Piano
Jason Wilber   Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar
Tony Crow   Piano,Keyboards
Rick Lonow   Drums
Andrew Bird   Vocals
Paul Burch   Bass,Drums
Deanna Varagona   Baritone Saxophone
Butch Norton   Drums
J.T. Brown   Vocal Harmony
Nate Query   Upright Bass
Bobby Bare   Guitar,Vocals,Background Vocals
Mike Butler   Electric Guitar
James "Hags" Haggerty   Bass
Aaron Ford   Drums
Chris Scruggs   Steel Guitar
Colonel J.D. Wilkes   Harmonica
William Tyler   Guitar
Brian Kotzur   Drums
David Vandervelde   Bass
Thomm Jutz   Guitar
Sarah Jarosz   Vocals,Octave Mandolin
Annalisa Tornfelt   Fiddle,Vocal Harmony
Jenny Conlee-Drizos   Accordion
Dave Jacques   Bass
Mike "Bubba" Bruce   Tambourine,Tom-Tom
Isabella Bare   Vocals
Christopher Funk   Dobro

Technical Credits

Bobby Bare   Producer,Liner Notes,Executive Producer
Fred Koller   Composer
Shel Silverstein   Composer,Lyricist,Illustrations
Pat McInerney   Producer
Mark Nevers   Producer,Engineer
Gary Paczosa   Producer,Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Eric Liljestrand   Producer,Engineer
Andrew Bird   Composer,Producer,Instrumentation
John Carter Cash   Producer
J.D. Andrew   Producer,Engineer
Tom Overby   Producer
Bobby Bare   Producer,Executive Producer
Eric Block   Engineer
Jim James   Producer
Larry Moyer   Cover Photo
Dan Dietrich   Engineer
Dave Ferguson   Engineer
Dog   Producer,Engineer
Thomm Jutz   Producer,overdub engineer
Sarah Jarosz   Producer
Billy Bob Thornton   Producer
Rixie Leaptrot   Executive Producer
John Baldwin   Engineer
Chuck Turner   Engineer

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