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In 1969 Tim Hardin
signed with Columbia. Married and a father, his personal life and
professional career finally appeared to be going in the right
directions. Debuting for Columbia with a non-LP single, Hardin scored
an unexpected hit with 1969's 'Simple Song of Freedom' b/w 'Question of
Birth' (Columbia catalog number 4-44920).
The single's
success accompanied by a well received appearance at Woodstock seemingly
bought Hardin some creative leeway with Columbia which agreed to finance an
album with very little corporate oversight. Recorded in Woodstock, New
York (where Hardin and his family had relocated), 1970's awkwardly titled
"Suite for Susan
Moore and Damion: We Are One, One, All in One"
found Hardin clearly trying to adjust to his changing circumstances
including marriage and parenthood (hence the title). Produced by Gary
Klein, tracks like 'First Love Song' and 'Everything Good Became More
True' featured a jarringly spare and stripped down sound; frequently
just Hardin and one or two instruments. An intensely personal album
full of dark and disturbing reflections on love and family (blame his
longstanding heroin addiction), the results often sounded like little more
than a series of improvised rehearsals that Hardin and company had stitched
together to form an album. With one or two exceptions ('Last Sweet
Moments'), there wasn't a great deal of conventional material to be found
here. As you probably deduced, much to Columbia's horror, it didn't
make for the year's most commercial, or accessible release, but it was
different and given a chance, the collection was well worth hearing.
(I can see lots of folks laughing at the comparison, but imagine Van
Morrison's "Moondance" but without the supporting band, or
underlying sense of joy.)
- A perfect
example of the album's stark sound, 'First
Love Song' showcased Hardin and an electric guitar with a touch of acoustic
guitar brought in. Clearly inspired by his wife Susan, it wasn't
something that immediately jumped out at you, but given a little time the
track began to reveal its charms. rating:
*** stars
-
'Everything Good Became More True'
showcased an equally barebones arrangement; this time out Hardin accompanied
by an electric keyboard. Kicked
along by a surprisingly soulful vocal, the song actually sounded like Hardin
was pulling a page out of the Van
Morrison songbook.
rating: *** stars
-
A spoken word segment accompanied by piano, 'Question
of Birth' was clearly
inspired by the birth of son Damion.
One of those compositions that probably sent English majors into spasms of
joy. personally I found it way over-the-top ...
rating: ** stars
- Again
just Hardin and electric keyboard, 'Once
Touched by Flame' was still one of the most commercial songs on the
album. Boasting a pretty melody with a nice vocal, it was unfortunate
Hardin didn't give the track a fuller arrangement. Columbia tapped the
track as a single.
rating: *** stars
- With a mild
Latin feel (must have been the percussion), 'Last
Sweet Moments' was one of the few songs
on the album to sport a full band arrangement. Too my ears this one's
always sounded like something Felix Cavaliere and the Rascals might have
recorded. Laidback, inflective and breezy ... very nice and probably
should have been tapped as the single.
rating: **** stars
-
Just Hardin and acoustic guitar, 'Magician'
was an interesting effort in that it managed to combine a free form, jazzy
vibe with a surprisingly funky feel. Sounds crazy and not particularly
promising, but it was cool. rating: ***
stars
- 'Loneliness
She Knows' offered up another spoken word segment with a discordant musical
background. I've never been able to sustain enough interest to figure
out what it was about.
rating: * star
-
Sounding very much like a raw demo, 'The
Country I'm Living In'
was
just Hardin and acoustic guitar. Not much in the way of melody, or
direction so this one didn't do a great deal for me.
rating: ** stars
-
'One, One, the Perfect Sum' showcased a full band arrangement and was the
lone performance that even came close to being a rock song. Featuring
a very loose vibe (drummer Donald
McDonald was all over the
map), Hardin actually sounded surprisingly comfortable on this one.
The refrain opted for a bluesier, but no less impressive take on the melody.
rating: *** stars
-
At least for me the album ended on kind of a down note in terms of the finally
spoken word segment - 'Susan' which was a 'duet' with wife
Susan. Not nearly as cute as Hardin thought it was ...
rating: ** stars
Obviously not sure
to do with the resulting album, Columbia nevertheless tapped it for an
instantly obscure single:
- 1970's
'Once-Touched By Flame' b/w 'Question of Birth' (Columbia catalog number
4-44920)
With minimal promotion and marketing support the
album still managed to become a minor chart success, hitting # 129 on the US
charts.
"Suite for Susan Moore and Damion: We Are
One, One, All in One" track listing:
(side 1)
1.)
Implication I
a.) First Love Song (Tim Hardin) -
b.) Everything Good Became More True (Tim Hardin) -
2.) Implication II
a.) Question of Birth (Tim Hardin) -
b.) Once Touched by Flame (Tim Hardin) -
c.) Last Sweet Moments (Tim Hardin) -
(side
2)
1.) Implication
III
a.) Magician (Tim Hardin) -
b.) Loneliness She Knows (Tim Hardin) -
2.) End of
Implication
a.) The Country I'm Living In (Tim Hardin) -
b.) One, One, the Perfect Sum (Tim Hardin) -
c.) Susan (Tim Hardin) -
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