Reason to Believe: The Songs of Tim Hardin

Liner Note Author: Barney Hoskyns.
Recording information: Berlin (2011); Car Club Studios, Wellington, New Zealand (2011); Holiday Resort, London (2011); Sundial Studio, Nevada City, CA (2011); The Toy Rooms (2011); Berlin (2012); Car Club Studios, Wellington, New Zealand (2012); Holiday Resort, London (2012); Sundial Studio, Nevada City, CA (2012); The Toy Rooms (2012).
Tim Hardin was a singular songwriter, rising out of the folk revival haze of the early 1960s, and his songs were both well-crafted and somehow comfortable and natural as air. He never achieved much commercial success as a recording artist, but his songs were hits for other people and remain an impressive legacy by anyone's standards. This set finds various alternative rock artists paying tribute to Hardin's muse by covering his best-known compositions, including "Reason to Believe" (Sand Band), "Red Balloon" (done here by Mark Lanegan; it is one of the highlights), "Misty Roses" (Snorri Helgason), "If I Were a Carpenter" (Smoke Fairies), "Shiloh Town" (Gavin Clark), and others. ~ Steve Leggett