Whistlestop--

As I mentioned, I've been listening to "Fairwells and Fantasies" which is a three CD compilation, produced by Gary Stewart, Michael Ochs, Meegan Lee Ochs. It features recordings from his entire career, including lots of live cuts, and also including some of the best of his later stuff, which is really good--well written, well produced, well performed, it falls short of greatness in only one way--it is not well known.

There is an inclination to dimiss this highly produced studio work as a "wrong direction" but it is exceptional music, and it shows that he had the capacity to do the kind of work that turned 70's singer-songwriters types, like the Eagles, Jackson Brown, Billy Joel, Dan Fogelberg, and Seals and Crofts into Superstars. Only thing is, from what I understand, that wasn't what he wanted.

Anyway, you should listen to it--my special faves are most everything from "Pleasures of the Harbor"(which has been newly released on CD), including "Outside a Small Circle of Friends", "Crucifixion", "Miranda", and the title cut, "Jim Dean of Indiana", "No More Songs", and "The Chords of Fame".

He is worth hearing--