Tim Hardin was one of the foremost exponents of the specific late '60s West Coast pop/folk sound, combining exceptionally precise, almost soul songwriting with echoes of blues and jazz, music of densely emotional variations on accessible structure. The central themes of the Tim Hardin legend are there early on, in sad songs combining poignancy and yearning with a rare maturity and self consciousness. Older than many of his mid late 60s contemporaries, Hardin was an early visitor to Vietnam after dropping out of school to join the Marines. A military 'adviser' there in 1959, it's believed that's where he picked up the interest in heroin that became quite central later in his career. Initial success was as a songwriter, and even now he's often covered, with writing distinct in its containing of a worldview that complexly encapsulates an outsider's view of the 60s zeitgeist. But as his career progressed into the early 70s, the songwriting muse began to desert him, and becoming more of a jazz interpreter, Hardin was increasingly perceived as an unreliable burnout. Albums became more erratic, shows were cancelled, stories began to mount up of desperation and abjection. There were a variety of attempts at comebacks, and he remained a strong live performer... but when he died at 39, he'd been almost forgotten.
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Playlist:
1. Tim Hardin, 'Don't Make Promises' from Tim Hardin 1 (1966)
2. Tim Hardin, 'Green Rocky Road' from Tim Hardin 1 (1966)
3. Tim Hardin, 'Reason to Believe', from Tim Hardin 1 (1966)
4. Tim Hardin, 'Misty Roses', from Tim Hardin 1 (1966)
5. Tim Hardin, 'How Can We Hang On To A Dream', from Tim Hardin 1 (1966)
6. Tim Hardin, 'If I Were a Carpenter', from Tim Hardin 2 (1967)
7. Tim Hardin, 'Red Balloon', from Tim Hardin 2 (1967)
8. Tim Hardin, 'Black Sheep Boy', from Tim Hardin 2 (1967)
9. Tim Hardin, 'The Lady Came from Baltimore', from Tim Hardin 2 (1967)
10. Tim Hardin, 'You Upset the Grace of Living When you Lie' from Tim Hardin 2 (1967)
11. Tim Hardin, 'See Where you Are and Get Out' from Tim Hardin 2 (1967)
12. Tim Hardin, 'Tribute to Hank Williams' from Tim Hardin 2 (1967)
13. Tim Hardin, 'Ain't Gonna Do Without' from Tim Hardin 1 (1966)
14. Tim Hardin, 'Smugglin' Man' from Tim Hardin 1 (1966)
15. Tim Hardin, 'You Gotta Have More Than One Woman' from This Is Tim Hardin (1967)
16. Tim Hardin, 'Eulogy to Lenny Bruce' from Tim Hardin 3 (1968)
17. Tim Hardin, 'Last Sweet Moment' from Tim Hardin 3 (1968)
18. Tim Hardin, 'First Love Song', from Suite for Susan Moore and Damian - We are one, one, all in one (1970)
19. Tim Hardin, 'Question of Birth', from Suite for Susan Moore and Damian - We are one, one, all in one (1970)
20. Tim Hardin, 'The Country I'm Living In', from Suite for Susan Moore and Damian - We are one, one, all in one (1970)
21. Tim Hardin, 'Magician', from Suite for Susan Moore and Damian - We are one, one, all in one (1970)
22. Tim Hardin, 'One One the Perfect Sum', from Suite for Susan Moore and Damian - We are one, one, all in one (1970)
23. Tim Hardin, 'Susan' from Suite for Susan Moore and Damian - We are one, one, all in one (1970)
24. Tim Hardin, 'Bird on the Wire', from Bird on the Wire (1971)
25. Tim Hardin, 'Andre Johray', from Bird on the Wire (1971)
26. Tim Hardin, 'I'll Be Home', from Painted Head (1972)
27. Tim Hardin, 'Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out' from Painted Head (1972)
28. Tim Hardin, 'Shiloh Town' from Nine (1973)
29. Tim Hardin, 'Blues on my Ceiling' from Nine (1973)
30. Can, 'Rehearsal' (with Tim Hardin) from Outtake Edition bootleg (date unknown)
31. Tim Hardin 'Black Sheep Boy' from The Homecoming Concert (1981)
32. Tim Hardin 'Lady Came' from The Homecoming Concert (1981)
33. Tim Hardin 'Speak Like a Child' from The Homecoming Concert (1981)
34. Tim Hardin, 'Red Balloon' from The Homecoming Concert (1981)
35. Tim Hardin 'Amen' from The Homecoming Concert (1981)
