Thanks to the suggestion of my friend Nacho Genzon, I have been listening quite a bit lately to Fred Neil, the American singer-songwriter of the 60's & 70's most regarded for penning the tune “Everybody's Talkin',” popularized by the use of the Harry Nilsson version in Midnight Cowboy. And thanks to some unpleasant and unfortunate personal heartache, I can't seem to remove his comforting, mellow self-titled 1966 album from my turntable. Listening to the first track “The Dolphins,” is like getting a musical hug.
What caught my attention, though, after the 322nd time listening to this record, was the short liner-note biography on the back cover of the album, written by the fantastic music journalist Jerry Hopkins. It is one of the sweetest, most heartfelt, and most succinct album liner-note biographies I have ever had the pleasure to read. It is so nice, you don't even need to listen to the record to appreciate its tenderness (although, I recommend listening to the record). Here it is:
In a small town in Florida lives a man who sails and sings. He also swims in an ocean warmed by the Gulf Stream and he talks to dolphins. Sometimes he ventures into the Big City, to sing at the Night Owl in Greenwich Village or to cut a record in Hollywood, but he does not like that much. They don't have dolphins there. So it is an event when Fred Neil comes to the Big City. The word goes out: “Freddie Neil is in town, have you seen him yet?” And when he goes into a recording studio, to bend over his 12-string guitar and shove his voice into his pocket and sing in that peculiar position of his, he is followed by hundreds of friends. They weren't invited, really. They just knew Freddie Neil was recording and they had to be there. As on this album, occasionally they'll even sing along with him. Some of the best singers and musicians were present when this album was recorded. Fred Neil attracts the best. He is a kind of legend, although he wouldn't like that said of him. As a matter of fact, Fred Neil probably wouldn't like anything said of him. (Capitol has no prepared biography and his longtime friend and manager Herb Cohen isn't even sure how old he is, or where he was born, or a lot of things about Fred Neil.) He is a quiet man, a family man. Almost everything he sings he wrote. He likes to swim and sail and talk to dolphins. He also has a fine voice. And that is all there is to Fred Neil.
Most people think that's enough.
Glorious Fred Neil disciple Tim Buckley covering "The Dolphins"
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There are 9 comments posted for this article.
ever read dream brother?
http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/0061076082.asp
Posted on October 17, 2007 11:57 AM by Diamond
I came across Fred Neil and his dolphins byway of Karen Dalton. Dalton is Neil's contemporary from the Greenwich Beat Scene. On Dalton's "You Never Know Whose Gonna Love You the Best" album jacket, there is a photo of Fred Neil, Karen Dalton and a very young Bobby Dylan performing together. At this
point I had completely surrendered myself to Dalton's scratchy forlorn voice. Given myself up to the point of knowing that I would be taking a sure bet with this unknown (to me) Fred Neil guy.
And like you Rena, I couldn't stop playing his albums on loop.
So in turn to your Fred Neil appreciation, I have to recommend giving Karen Dalton a listen.
She WAS what the other girls in the scene tried to be. Like Neil, Dalton has been described as being an elusive type, who possessed an innate talent and magnetism that could of been exploited for 'greater' ends. However, she ended up releasing two albums and fell into obscurity.
I was so excited to read your article. And I hope it turns more people on to the glories of Fred Neil's baritone voice and depth of emotional timbre.
Do yourselves a big favor. Seek out Dalton and Neil.
Cause don't we all appreciate so much more, artists who shun fame and celebrity for the sanctity of their art's integrity?
Posted on October 17, 2007 12:07 PM by Michelle Y. Lee
thanks, michelle- karen dalton is next on the list
Posted on October 17, 2007 12:58 PM by Rena
I feel the same way about that album. It's stuck to my turntable by some form of grace related gravity.
And another phenomenal and criminally overlooked Friend of Fred is Richie Havens, and his cover of "Dolphins" from Live at the Cellar Door (from 1970?) is a triumph and a revelation. Check it.
Posted on October 18, 2007 11:02 AM by Mark Williams
My father was really into Richie Havens so I remember listening to him growing up. "Live at the Cellar Door" is from 1990, but another live album, "Richie Havens on Stage" from 1972 is pretty fantastic. Covers Fred Neil, George Harrison, Van Morrison...
Posted on October 18, 2007 11:53 AM by Rena
Thanks for the post and Tim Buckley clip of "Dolphins". I've wanted to see but couldn't find that video. I sing the song myself and love to hear different arrangements. Fred Neil is one of the greats yet he is almost unknown now. Likewise Karen Dalton. At least her records have been rereleased on CD. "In my own time", her second album is a masterpiece, featuring liner notes by Fred Neil, who was a mentor to Karen, Dylan, John Sebastian and many more. Great to see the recognition here.
Posted on October 19, 2007 4:31 PM by butter
Thanks for the post and Tim Buckley clip of "Dolphins". I've wanted to see but couldn't find that video. I sing the song myself and love to hear different arrangements. Fred Neil is one of the greats yet he is almost unknown now. Likewise Karen Dalton. At least her records have been rereleased on CD. "In my own time", her second album is a masterpiece, featuring liner notes by Fred Neil, who was a mentor to Karen, Dylan, John Sebastian and many more. Great to see the recognition here.
Posted on October 19, 2007 4:31 PM by butter
thanks. yeah, the video is pretty great. our web editor pulled that baby out, and i'm really glad he did. tim buckley can melt even the coldest of hearts.
Posted on October 19, 2007 4:58 PM by Rena
That liner note was truly insightful regarding the Neil talent and charisma. Quiet, yes. A family man...not so much.
In his 1999 autobiography, They Can't Hide Us Anymore, Richie Havens devotes quite a few pages to Fred and his influence.
Posted on December 7, 2007 11:37 PM by Wha?61