''Looks at Life'' is singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist
John Hartford
John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive kn ...
's debut album. It essentially set the pattern for all of his
RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
albums over the next four years: a combination of dry wit and superb musicianship, delivered with a warm conversational baritone. This, along with the next five albums, were repackaged in three "twofer" CDs on BMG's Camden Deluxe label in 2002, immediately following his death.
Reception
Music critic
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...
, writing for
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, wrote "Though occasional songs skirted commercial country-pop ("Like Unto a Mockingbird," "Minus the Woman") and novelty tunes ("I Shoulda Wore My Birthday Suit" and the kazoo-laden "Jack's in the Sack"), usually they fell somewhere between the normal and the silly. It wasn't quite as good as the best of his subsequent RCA albums of the late '60s and early '70s, though, as the melodies weren't quite as strong and the production not as elaborate. "The Tall Tall Grass" does give a hint of what was to come..."
Track listing
:''All songs written by John Hartford.''
#"I Reckon" – 1:21
#"Today" – 3:16
#"A Man Smoking a Cigar" – 2:04
#"Untangle Your Mind" – 2:03
#"Like Unto a Mockingbird" – 2:53
#"I Shoulda Wore My Birthday Suit" – 1:51
#"The Tall Tall Grass" – 2:26
#"Front Porch" – 2:00
#"Eve of My Multiplication" – 1:49
#"When the Sky Began to Fall" – 3:51
#"Corn Cob Blues" – 2:36
#"Minus the Woman" – 2:57
#"Jack's in the Sack" – 2:09
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Looks At Life
1967 debut albums
John Hartford albums
RCA Records albums
Albums produced by Felton Jarvis