Original Album Series: Ramblin' Boy/Outward Bound/Morning Again/The Things I Notice Now/6

Personnel: Tom Paxton (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar); David Bromberg (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Barry Kornfeld (guitar, banjo, harmonica); Paul Prestopino (guitar); Felix Pappalardi (guitarron); Jim Tyler (banjo); David Grisman (mandocello); Max Pollikoff (violin); Robert Sylvester, Seymour Barab (cello); Jack Bonus (flute, tenor saxophone); Hubert Laws, Hank Freeman (flute); Richard Grando (soprano recorder, soprano saxophone); Johnny Coleb (flugelhorn); David Horowitz (piano, celesta, harpsichord, organ, synthesizer, vibraphone); Paul Harrison (keyboards); Jonathan Raskin, Herb Bushler, John Nagy (electric bass); Paul Dillon, Maurice Baker, Jimmy Madison, Albert Bouchard, Teddy Sommer (drums).
Audio Mixer: Peter K. Siegel.
Liner Note Author: Tom Paxton.
Recording information: A & R Studios, New York, NY; Mastertone Studios, New York, NY.
Photographer: Elliot Landy.
Arranger: Milton Okun.
In many ways a bridge between the late-'50s generation of folksingers like Dave Van Ronk and the early-'60s version posed by innovative songwriters like Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton managed to keep his integrity intact through it all, and if he didn't exactly break new ground anywhere, he has always been a careful and thoughtful songwriter. This set brings together five of the six LPs Paxton recorded and released with Elektra Records between 1964 and 1972 (the sixth, New Songs Old Friends, released in 1972, was a retrospective live set), 1964's Ramblin' Boy, 1966's Outward Bound, 1968's Morning Again, 1969's The Things I Notice Now, and 1970's Tom Paxton 6. The end result is an almost complete collection from Paxton's peak middle years, the years when he wrote and recorded most of the songs on which his legacy rests. ~ Steve Leggett