Disco de Bobby Bare: “Hard Time Hungrys”

This is a very special album, bringing together the poetic genious of Shel Silverstein and the expressive talents of the Great Bobby Bare. This album, conceived by Silverstein tells the story of the "real" people in society. The battlers at the bottom of the ladder who are losers because of when and where they were born, not what they can do. This album will bring a tear to your eye with "Two For A Dollar", which paints the picture of the dispersal of treasured family furniture and effects through the impersonal reality of an auction sale. It takes you into the hard world of prison with "Back Home In Huntsville Again" and shows the family dislocation caused when "Daddy's Been Around The House Too Long". It will have you smiling with "Warm and Free" as we learn how to make the best of an opportunity. "$100,000 In Pennies" teaches us with a smile that even a successful crime can have problems. "Bottles And Boxes" contributed by Roger Murrah is a classic in the vein of "Streets of London". The album finishes in the "Unemployment Line".

It takes true genious to use a single subject to evoke a range of emotions. This album achieves this eloquently. When you have listened to it a few times you will realise that you have laughed, cried and loved, all based on the fact that for some, life is hard or just dead unfair. But it is done so well that that you will feel lifted by the experience of hearing it, and, if you have a soul, a lot closer to those people in society who are doing it "hard". This album introduced me to Shell Silverstein and Bobby Bare, it was a revelation for me. If you have any poetry in your soul you must hear it! Then you will find you must have to have it

I bought this album in 1976 on stereo-8 tape. I played it endlessly during my years living in Asia to remind me of the "real world". Anyway I lost that tape years ago and only by accident learned it was still available. I've looked for it on and off for years.

It's truly an amazing musical experience for me.