I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound: The Best Of Tom Paxton

I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound: The Best Of Tom Paxton

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
There are few music fans who are not familiar with a Tom Paxton song--whether they know it or not. Paxton emerged from the folk movement of the 1960s and went on to pen a remarkable body of work that has been covered by literally hundreds of singers. Indeed, the songs on this collection, culled from the seven albums he cut from his start on through 1971, include what are now unarguably American standards in the rarefied tradition of Stephen Foster and Woody Guthrie. His lyrical charm and simplicity of melody informs children's songs ("Going to the Zoo," "Marvelous Toy") and hilarious social satires ("What Did You Learn in School Today," "Forest Lawn"). His most memorable songs, though, are the romantic ballads such as the title track, "Ramblin' Boy," and his signature apologia "The Last Thing on My Mind." This album is a perfect Paxton primer, the only quibble being over the songs left off. The breadth of Paxton's early work surely merits a double CD. --John Sutton-Smith

Tracks:

I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound
What Did You Learn In School Today?
The Last Thing On My Mind
Daily News
My Lady's A Wild, Flying Dove
Goin' To The Zoo
Ramblin' Boy
The Willing Conscript
Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation
Bottle Of Wine
Every Time
Leaving London
My Son, John
One Time And One Time Only
Outward Bound
Victoria Dines Alone
All Night LOng
Forest Lawn
Whose Garden Was This
Cindy's Cryin'
Clarissa Jones
Now That I've Taken My Life
Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues
Jimmy Newman
The Marvelous Toy
Jennifer's Rabbit/I Give You The Morning

Amazon.com

There are few music fans who are not familiar with a Tom Paxton song--whether they know it or not. Paxton emerged from the folk movement of the 1960s and went on to pen a remarkable body of work that has been covered by literally hundreds of singers. Indeed, the songs on this collection, culled from the seven albums he cut from his start on through 1971, include what are now unarguably American standards in the rarefied tradition of Stephen Foster and Woody Guthrie. His lyrical charm and simplicity of melody informs children's songs ("Going to the Zoo," "Marvelous Toy") and hilarious social satires ("What Did You Learn in School Today," "Forest Lawn"). His most memorable songs, though, are the romantic ballads such as the title track, "Ramblin' Boy," and his signature apologia "The Last Thing on My Mind." This album is a perfect Paxton primer, the only quibble being over the songs left off. The breadth of Paxton's early work surely merits a double CD. --John Sutton-Smith

Customer Reviews:

ONE GREAT FOLK ARTIST.......2007-05-22

I was in high school during the VietNam unrest and got into protest music at that time-but the only record by Tom Paxton that I enjoyed was Mysterious Toy. Ater all these years I forgot about him and while shopping in a card shop I heard a childs song-I Have Yo Yo and recognized the artist. From that shopping trip it brought me to Amazon and this great CD by Tom with his vast array of various songs. A truly great artist.Buy it-listen to it- and go back in time whether good or bad.

Great Album.......2007-04-11

Listening to Tom Paxton is like a time machine back into the turmoil and frustration of the sixties. This album shows why Paxton is one of the principle movers of the resistance to the war in Vietnam. Some of the songs make you want to cry they're so beautiful, but mostly the humor and good nature is what comes through. "The Vietnam Ragg" probably sums up most guy's attitudes towards the draft most perfectly. We lost a lot in this country when folk music fell out of favor. Men like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seger, Jack Elliott, Hoyt Axton and Tom Paxton came from the soil and blood that built this nation before the days of consumerism and conspicuous consumption and I hope they're never forgotten.

The Best of Tom Paxton.......2007-02-13

Whilst in the R.A.F.I used to play Tom's L.P's on the camp's radio station.The records got lost over time and the C.D.is a great way of replacing them and bringing back memories of when I met my wife.Tom's music is simple & efective when modern 'folk' albums tend to be over produced.

unmatched.......2005-04-05

Tom is the greatest folk song writer of our era...this collection totally won me over to his politics and motivated me to travel to Hazard, Kentucky in the summer of 1970 to see what Tom was singing about...we met some hippies who turned us on to some moonshine and we watched as the town clock went around for 8 hours...Tom actually devoted a rendition of the song, High Sheriff of Hazard" to me and a friend at a concert at Brooklyn College. Tom is the ultimate songwriter-storyteller. I love rap music now but its roots of protest where embedded in Tom's protest songs. Enjoy!

Excellent sampler-but need more.......2003-11-26

This is a long overdue release and contains some of the best performances from Tom Paxton during his early, formative years on the Elektra label. As others have stated, there are omissions in this collection-thus begging the question-when will these be released on cd?
Tracks like "Morning Again", "Crazy John", "Saturday Night" are only available by hunting down the original vinyl.
At the very least, "Tom Paxton 6", his best record, deserves a cd release. The tracks on this anthology from this record sound wonderful on cd.
Also deserving a cd release is his Reprise label record "Peace Will Come"- an album right up there with "Tom Paxton 6".

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