Compleat Tom Paxton: Recorded Live

A two-disc live set recorded at New York's Bitter End nightclub in June 1970, The Compleat Tom Paxton is pretty close to definitive when it comes to the range of the folksinger's interests at the time. It's all here, from the pointed satire of "Talking Vietnam Pot Luck Blues" and "Wish I Had a Troubador" and the more subtle but no less biting social commentary of "Clarissa Jones" and "Jimmy Newman," all the way to the touching children's song "Jennifer's Rabbit" (Paxton would not go deeply into children's music for some years yet) and the romantic tenderness of "My Lady's a Wild Flying Dove" and the closing "The Last Thing on My Mind." The arrangements range from solo acoustic performances (most of the album, actually) to a handful of songs with a semi-electric, drummer-less band. Paxton's banter throughout is light and humorous, and there's an appealing, easygoing feel to the album that makes its epic length seem considerably shorter. ~ Stewart Mason