While the likes of Pete Seeger approached music conservation with carbon-copy reverence, the walking classic American songbook Tiny Tim (best known for his 1968 hit Tiptoe Through The Tulips With Me) was never afraid to stamp his identity onto anything he cared to sing.
Each of these is a CD first and 1980’s Chameleon sees Tim in a suitably changeling mode. His famed falsetto judders from crooner vocals to high notes on My Way, the next he’s on the Mickey Mouse Club March and a misguided Stayin’ Alive (its funked-up, heavy drum backing just doesn’t work). Stardust is even more eclectic, being a collection of unreleased material that eradicates Tim’s falsetto with Tom Jones-style vocals. He can’t do metal, though, making AC/DC’s Highway To Hell a big misstep, while more than one version of the Stones’ Satisfaction with a dance breakdown is quite enough.
Wonderful World Of Romance… is the most accessible here. Two complete sessions sees Tim play to his strengths, tackling classic songs and chatting about them in between. Highly informal, the second session was a promoonly release, while the first hasn’t seen release till now. It’s a take on a set of classic songs we all know inside out, but with a fresher perspective than modern-day crooners offer.
