''A Fool's Paradise'' is the second studio album by the American band Lazarus. It was released in January 1973 by

Bearsville Records Bearsville Records was founded in 1970 by Albert Grossman. Artists included Todd Rundgren, Elizabeth Barraclough, Foghat, Halfnelson/ Sparks, Bobby Charles, Randy VanWarmer, Paul Butterfield's Better Days, Lazarus, Jesse Winchester, and NRBQ. ...

, distributed by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. All of the songs were written by Bill Hughes with the exception of "Oklahoma Boy" written by

Carl Keesee Carl Keesee is an American recording artist, songwriter, and musician. He was born in Oklahoma but moved to Canada. He is best known as a bassist, but has also performed as a clarinetist and vocalist. He has been a member of the bands Lazarus (wi ...

. The album was produced by

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer and songwriter who found fame for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group's best known hits, " Puff, the Magic Dragon". H ...

and

Phil Ramone Philip Ramone (né Rabinowitz, January 5, 1934March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business par ...

. It received significant national airplay on leading progressive FM stations. "Ladyfriends I (Sing a Song to Your Lady)" was issued as the first single. It is included, with "Baby, Baby", in the Bearsville Bear Pack No 1 compilation of tracks considered collectors' items released as a Vinyl LP by WEA, originating in the UK in 1977. The album featured Bobby Charles, Hungry Chuck, Paul Butterfield, Jesse Winchester and Lazarus. The album was released by

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...

in Japan on September 6, 1995. It was reissued by

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 o ...

on CD and digitally.

Critical reception

Billboard's Top Picks reviewer declared “Beautifully done in every aspect, from fine songs, beautiful harmony vocals to superb instrumental arrangements”…remarking that Hughes and Keesee “have excellent voices and Hughes, who penned all the material, is a top writer”. The reviewer praised the group's ability “to combine rock and orchestral instruments without gimmicks and without sounding pretentious,” “condense its material so it doesn't drag” and its authenticity, opining “A bit of many styles but a copy of none.”

Track listing

Credits and personnel

As listed in the liner notes. Lazarus * Bill Hughes – vocal, guitar, piano,

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

– vocal, bass *

Gary Dye Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

– vocal, piano, organ Production *

– producer *

Nick Jameson Nicholas Jameson (born December 5, 1950) is an American actor, musician and producer, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Russian president Yuri Suvarov over three seasons on the show '' 24''. He currently resides in Reykjavík doing live co ...

– drums, percussion * Chris Dedrick – orchestration *

– musical director *

–

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

– additional production, remix * Jim Maxwell and Susan Lee – special thanks * Tom Zetterstrom - photography * Tim Luft - design and illustration * William C. Klein, Jr. – color tinting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fool's Paradise 1973 albums Albums produced by Phil Ramone Bearsville Records albums Contemporary Christian music albums by American artists Warner Music Group albums Pony Canyon albums