''Folksinger'' is an album by folk singer-songwriter
Phranc
Phranc (born Susan Gottlieb; August 28, 1957), is an American singer-songwriter whose career began playing in several bands in the late 1970s Los Angeles punk rock scene. Her musical style later shifted during the 1980s as a solo artist, into ...
, released in 1985.
Phranc's first solo LP fused elements of her
punk rock past with acoustic folk music. She covers
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's "
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is a topical song written by the American musician Bob Dylan. Recorded on October 23, 1963, the song was released on Dylan's 1964 album '' The Times They Are a-Changin and gives a generally factual account ...
," comments on the image of girl groups ("Everywhere I Go (I Hear the Go Go's)"), and relays the personal tragedy of suicide in "Lifelover."
''Folksinger'' was released on
Rhino Records
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...
, and was licensed to Island Records in 1990.
[ "Everywhere I Go (I Hear the Go-Go's)" is a bonus track on the Island version.
]
Critical reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
wrote that "acoustic folk music had yet to be embraced by the punk/new wave underground, making ''Folksinger'' a watershed album."Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...
'' wrote that "Phranc’s not a timeless melodicist, but her wry lyrical observations and attractive singing make ''Folksinger'' a fine effort."The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' wrote that the songs "tend to be too slight and specific for repeated listening; they don't have the resonances of 'Hattie Carroll.'"
Track listing
All tracks composed by Phranc, except where indicated
# "One of the Girls" – 4:56
# "Noguchi" – 2:56
# "Mary Hooley" – 4:02
# "Ballad of the Dumb Hairdresser" – 3:24
# "Caped Crusader" – 2:16
# "Female Mudwrestling" – 2:12
# "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is a topical song written by the American musician Bob Dylan. Recorded on October 23, 1963, the song was released on Dylan's 1964 album '' The Times They Are a-Changin and gives a generally factual account ...
" (Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
) – 4:26
# "Amazons" – 2:34
# "Liar Liar" – 1:58
# "Handicapped" – 1:30
# "Carolyn" – 4:27
# "Lifelover" – 2:36
# "Everywhere I Go (I Hear the Go Go's)" – 2:46
Personnel
* Phranc
Phranc (born Susan Gottlieb; August 28, 1957), is an American singer-songwriter whose career began playing in several bands in the late 1970s Los Angeles punk rock scene. Her musical style later shifted during the 1980s as a solo artist, into ...
- Producer, vocals, guitar
Release details
References
External links
Rate Your Music review
{{Authority control
Folksinger
Folksinger
Folksinger