The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters

The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters
Live album by
The Limeliters
Released1961
GenreFolk
LabelRCA Victor
The Limeliters chronology
Tonight: In Person
(1961) 		The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters
(1961) 		Sing Out!
(1962)

The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters is a live album by the American folk music group, The Limeliters, a trio made up of Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev, and Glenn Yarbrough.It was recorded in Berkeley, California and released in 1961 on the RCA Victor label (catalog no. LPM-2393).[1][2]

The album debuted on Billboard magazine's pop album chart on October 9, 1961, peaked at No. 8, and remained on the chart for 22 weeks.[3]

AllMusic gave the album a rating of three stars. Reviewer William Ruhlmann wrote that "it was the group's ability to mix different moods (along with their sheer singing talent) that made their act such a success in concert, a success transferred so effectively to disc that it seemed they should record nothing but live albums."[2]

Reception

Audio magazine reviewed the album positively, saying that "soon every college band in the country will be trying its hand at the tricky arrangements of Hard Ain't It Hard, Western Wind, and Aravah, Aravah".[4] The Atlantic magazine was also praising, describing the album as marked by "boisterous sophistication".[5] The 1998 book The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music praised Yarborough's singing on the album.[6]

The song "Harry Pollitt" on the album, the lyrics of which lampoon the former leader of the Communist Party of Great Britain,[7] was heavily criticised in Marxism Today (the official journal of that party) as "sickening" and "full of the vilest insults".[8]

Track listing

Side A

  1. "Western Wind" [2:16]
  2. "Medley: Hard Travelin'; Mount Zion" [1:37]
  3. "Lass from the Low Country" [3:19]
  4. "Gunslinger" [2:36]
  5. "Curimã" [3:26]
  6. "Vikki Dougan" [1:39]

Side B

  1. "Aravah, Aravah" [2:21]
  2. "Whistling Gypsy" [2:51]
  3. "The Time of Man" [2:53]
  4. "Harry Pollitt" [2:18]
  5. "Hard Ain't It Hard" [2:43]
  6. "Mama Don't 'Low" [2:16]

References

  1. ^ "The Limeliters – The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters". Discogs. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Tonight: In Person". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  3. ^ Joel Whitburn (1995). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Albums. Billboard Books. ISBN 0823076318.
  4. ^ "The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters". Audio. 45. Radio Magazine, Incorporated: 72. 1961. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  5. ^ "The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters". The Atlantic. Atlantic Monthly Company: 95. 1961. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  6. ^ Cackett, Alan; Clarke, Donald; Balmer, Paul (1998). The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Penguin Books. p. 755. ISBN 9780140513707. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  7. ^ Mansfield, Brian; Walters, Neal (1998). MusicHound Folk The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink. p. 7. ISBN 9781578590377. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  8. ^ "A Grave Responsibility". Marxism Today. 16: 115. 1972. Retrieved 22 September 2021.