Search - Danny O'Keefe :: Danny's Best 1970-2000: Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues

O'Keefe Returns In Full Flight

R. J MOSS | Alice Springs, Australia | 05/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Raven have mastered a sensational 20 O'Keefe chestnuts. It's a rare case of a collection that, arguably, outdistances the potency of any single O'Keefe release. Though the compilation is chronologically presented, there's a seamlessness to the feel that reflects the early maturity of his writing and performing skills.'Goodtime Charlie's' single guitar figure and elegaic tone of ennui proved to be O'Keefe's signature. Country and Western is the broad umbrella under which his songs camp. But the simplistic, moral world of the Country and Western bulwark no more adequately describes O'Keefe than it does Steve Young, Paul Siebel, or Richard Buckner. Listen to the ambitious juxtaposition of a lost love with the fading memory of baseball ace,'Babe Ruth'. It's a play on nominal similarities, but that's just a mere excuse for an exquisitley voiced lamentation and Donny Hathway's piano playing.'Only an Ocean away' is another stunning evocation of pain, this time that of a Vietnam veteran forced to abandon a son and,'missing the boy in both of us'. Twenty years on, the complex, conflicted singer still bears the shame, admitting he's 'not the man he'll ever be, or the boy he was before. What was lost in Vietnam, was a lot more than a war'. I don't regret the inclusion of the Dylan collaboration,'Well,Well, Well' though it has nowhere near the biblical resonance that David Lindley placed on his, 'Twango Bango' CD. Great that O'Keefe toured Australia in 2006! Pity Alice Springs is off limits for such a seasoned performer."

A Genuine Artist!

David Dardar | Louisiana | 03/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Most closely associated with his 1972 Top Ten entry "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues," singer/songwriter Danny O'Keefe was born and raised in Spokane, WA, beginning his performing career on the Minnesota coffeehouse circuit of the mid-'60s. Danny O'Keefe was Indie before the term Indie was cool. Always an advocate of social awareness Danny sings about real life and real issues concerning the planet and people in general. While he's always had a devout following he never became a household name, perhaps that's how he'd like it. You could never pin a particular style to his music; he could go from Pop-Folk to Jazz without the slightest twitch. There are some major standout classics including the beautifully touching "You Look Just Like A Girl Again" about an aging couple and the husband seeing his wife as forever young. As to why Danny O'Keefe didn't become more popular is something I'll never comprehend, he had all the elements of a major artist with every other song deserving airplay, big sales or critical praise as he actively continues to do today. There's much more to his music than "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues" and here's your chance to sample the tip of the iceberg of a most talented American composer, singer and performer who knows what real-life is all about."