Retro-Review: Freakin' at the Freaker's Ball- Cosmic Transgressions of Shel Silverstein

Unfortunately, making records was only a third or fourth career for the late great Shel Silverstein. He made his mark as a Playboy cartoonist, but is best known now as an author of children's books.

By far his most interesting Godly manifestation, however, was as a songwriter. I usually think of him as a country songwriter. Among his numerous classic hits were "A Boy Named Sue," "One's on the Way," "The Unicorn Song," and "Put Another Log on the Fire." He also wrote all of Dr Hook's good songs, including "Sylvia's Mother" and "Cover of the Rolling Stone."

Somewhere in there, he managed to make a couple of albums himself. Now, obviously you couldn't do any better than Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn singing your songs. But Shel had a real unique and memorable sound in his own performances. His most frequent sound was a loosey goosey country funk, a particularly depraved cosmic comic cousin of the Band most nearly approximated by Dr Hook.

His 1973 opus Freakin' at the Freaker's Ball would likely be considered his main album. Off the top, at least four of these songs are pure classics. The title song is best known for Dr Hook's recording, but this is even better. Shel could vocally convey a kind of quivering need in his most licentious songs that is something else beyond mere desire. Plus, this "Freakin'" has some beautiful New Orleans horns that really top off the comprehensive divine pantheon of deviance. "Plaster casters casting their plaster. Masturbators baiting their masters." Really, it's almost a philosophical treatise.

The best and most well known song of this litter would be "I Got Stoned and I Missed It." It's just a heller catchy singalong barroom pop song- with some really strong lyrical details and emotional complexity. It's a unique happy lament, making dope sound like a highly appealing dead end. Plus, it's one of the all time classic songs to listen to while you're getting stoned with the homies.

Article Author: Al Barger

Unreformed hawkish Hoosier hillbilly Al Barger runs the still squeezin' down the psychodelic Kentucky moonshine at More Things. What with the paranoid religious visions, the Pentecostal music, visions of God and anarchy running amok and such, somebody …

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