Performer name:  Harry Chapin

CD Title:  Living Room Suite

Genre(s):  Folk / Rock

Your own words on why you're recommending this CD:  I spose I should admit right off that part of my love of this CD is due to being named after one of the songs: “Jenny.”  My mom changed the spelling but apparently she and my dad liked the song so much that they chose the name for me.  So I’ve always been fond of the song which, if memory serves, Harry Chapin wrote for his own daughter. 

However, this CD has so many songs I can remember loving as a child up til this day.  “Dancin’ Boy” is a cheery, upbeat song about a man and his young son.  Very cute.  Harry Chapin also has another song called “Tangled Up Puppet”, this one about a daughter, that’s not as cheerful but a great listen.  However, you’ll have to look to another CD for that.  The man wrote great songs about family, clearly.  The second and third tracks, “If You Want to Feel” and “Poor Damned Fool” aren’t ones I particularly relate to but I love em nonetheless.  I always find myself singing along.  The fourth track is another favorite.  “I Wonder What Would Happen to This World” asks us to consider how much good we can do with our lives.  It’s also the closing song of Chapin’s gospel-inspired musical “The Cotton Patch Gospel.”  Very uplifting and thought-provoking!  Fifth comes the aforementioned “Jenny.”  Track 6 is entitled “It Seems You Only Love Me When It Rains” and never fails to make me think of Andrew.  The song is about a man who realizes his girlfriend is only really tender towards him when he cries.  And, I’m afraid to say, I just might be that type.  I could go through a whole TBAA episode pretty disinterested but if Andrew cries… I absolutely melt.  I hope this doesn’t carry over into real life!  Moving onto the seventh track you’ll find “Why Do Little Girls?”  This song gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.  I don’t know if I wanna call it feminist but it’s a very powerful ballad about how women can sometimes be disrespected and their talents not allowed to flourish alongside their male counterparts.  To hear a guy sing those sorta lyrics… wow.  Track 8 is one of my earliest favorites which is “Flowers are Red.”  This is at once cute and deeply sad.  It’s about a lil boy who is full of creativity but an unthinking teacher squashes that.  I think it should be required listening for all teachers, parents, and anyone working with children.  Finally, the CD ends with “Somebody Said” which is highly dramatic and a worthy note on which to end an awesome CD.