Clarissa Jones/The Things I Notice Now/Jennifer’s Rabbit I Give You The Morning/The Marvellous Toy/Leaving London/Angie/All Night Long/Bayonet Rap/Talking Vietnam Pot Luck Blues/Jimmy Newman/Outward Bound/ Morning Again/Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound/My Lady’s A Wild Flying Dove/Now That I’ve Taken My Life/About The Chicken/Ballad Of Spiro Agnew/Mr Blue/Wish I Had A Troubadour/Ev’ry Time (When We Are Gone)/Cindy’s Crying Hooker/Ramblin’ Boy/The Last Thing On My Mind
The oddly spelt double album Compleat was a live retrospective of veteran British folk singer Tom Paxton. It was recorded over two nights in June 1970 at the New York folk venue The Bitter End. (UK:18)
“Already a ten year musical veteran by the time he made this recording - Tom Paxton was comfortable with his songs, his voice, his conscience and knew exactly how to perform to a literate audience. There's a fabulous intimacy about the gig - and his repartee with the enthralled crowd oozes out of every track.”
“The ballads are especially pretty - All Night Long and the plaintive Leaving London - a tune about longing for a girl, returning to her and flying home. The lovely Angie benefits hugely from the beautifully complimentary piano playing of David Horowitz. Disc two continues with more of the same.”
“A live album which features all the Paxton classics. It's a double album and may seem a bit monotonous to some.”
“This is pretty close to definitive when it comes to the range of the folk singer's interests at the time. It's all here, from the pointed satire of Talking Vietnam Pot Luck Blues and Wish I Had A Troubadour and the more subtle but no less biting social commentary of Clarissa Jones and Jimmy Newman, all the way to the touching children's song Jennifer's Rabbit, the romantic tenderness of My Lady's A Wild Flying Dove and the closing The Last Thing On My Mind.”
“The arrangements range from solo acoustic performances to a handful of songs with a semi-electric, drummer less band. Paxton's banter throughout is light and humorous, and there's an appealing, easy going feel to the album that makes its epic length seem considerably shorter.”
“Paxton’s humour, compelling wit and grasp of the thoughts of everyday people, his writing and singing about topical subjects, reaching out to people and helping to rid that feeling of utter isolation, is a gift”
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