John Hartford

Natural to Be Gone 1967-1970

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Natural to Be Gone 1967-1970 Review

by Thom Jurek

Australia's Raven Records has accomplished the impossible: they have distilled the finest moments from John Hartford's first seven RCA recordings down into 28 songs and issued them with pristine sound on a single CD. What seems impossible is that there aren't any tracks on these albums that are remotely substandard. The fact that these seven albums were done in a four-year period is astonishing. Using only two producers during that time, Felton Jarvis and Rick Jarrard, Hartford built a white heat body of work that was as eclectic as it was innovative and high quality. Hartford was the Mark Twain of songwriting, and not only because he was from Missouri. His sense of irony, travel, history, humor -- and commitment to excellence -- was nearly without peer. Only Mickey Newbury and Kris Kristofferson -- who arrived in Music City about the same time Hartford did -- were his peers. Most know Hartford as the author of Glen Campbell's smash "Gentle On My Mind," but that song is only the beginning of the story. "Untangle Your Mind," "Windows," "Go Fall Asleep Now," "Like Unto A Mockingbird," and so many others, bring an enormous perspective to the songwriting being done at the time: historical concerns, a Zen detachment from the subject matter which offers a compassionate view of every situation, profound empathy with his protagonists without artifice or sentiment, and the way to construct a line where metaphor and metronomic device become interchangeable. Hartford also used his encyclopedic musical knowledge in his songs, wrapping his lyrics in old folk songs, bluegrass, hillbilly, Celtic influences, vanguard tonal architectures, and good old country and blues hooks. What's even more amazing is that, like the best work of Bob Dylan and John Stewart Hartford's work is timeless, it shows no age either in its innovative production techniques, or its compositional or lyrical content. This is essential for any fan of singer/songwriters, or for the history of country music as it began flirting with other forms. This is the real Americana music.

Track Listing

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	The Tall Tall Grass John Hartford	John Hartford	02:25	Amazon
2	Untangle Your Mind John Hartford	John Hartford	02:02	Amazon
3	Corn Cob Blues John Hartford	John Hartford	02:36	Amazon
4	Minus the Woman John Hartford	John Hartford	02:57	Amazon
5	Gentle on My Mind John Hartford	John Hartford	03:03	Amazon
6	There Are No Fools in Heaven (Anyman's Lament) John Hartford	John Hartford	04:31	Amazon
7	A Simple Thing as Love John Hartford	John Hartford	02:56	Amazon
8	Natural to Be Gone John Hartford	John Hartford	01:47	Amazon
9	The Six O'Clock Train and a Girl With Green Eyes John Hartford	John Hartford	02:39	Amazon
10	I Would Not Be There John Hartford	John Hartford	02:18	Amazon
11	Windows Bill Dixon / John Hartford	John Hartford	02:30	Amazon
12	Big Blue Balloon John Hartford	John Hartford	02:55	Amazon
13	Crystallia Daydream John Hartford	John Hartford	03:06	Amazon
14	In Like Of John Hartford	John Hartford	02:49	Amazon
15	Shiny Rails of Steel John Hartford	John Hartford	02:13	Amazon
16	The Category Stomp John Hartford	John Hartford	02:12	Amazon
17	Go Fall Asleep Now John Hartford	John Hartford	03:05	Amazon
18	Californian Earthquake John Hartford	John Hartford	03:01	Amazon
19	I Didn't Know the World Would Last This Long John Hartford	John Hartford	03:55	Amazon
20	Dusty Miller Hornpipe and Fugue in a Major for Strings, Brass and ... John Hartford	John Hartford	02:11	Amazon
21	I've Heard the Tearstained Monologue You Do There by the Door ... John Hartford	John Hartford	03:50	Amazon
22	The Little Old Lonesome Little Circle Song John Hartford	John Hartford	01:49	Amazon
23	Little Piece in D John Hartford	John Hartford	02:58	Amazon
24	Like Unto a Mockingbird John Hartford	John Hartford	04:13	Amazon
25	Meanwhile You Sit by My Banjo John Hartford	John Hartford	02:49	Amazon
26	I Won't Know Why I Went Till After I Get Back John Hartford	John Hartford	02:46	Amazon
27	Maybe John Hartford	John Hartford	01:51	Amazon
28	Frustrated Bird John Hartford	John Hartford	02:35	Amazon