You Don't Mess Around With Jim - JIM CROCE****

You Don't Mess Around With Jim/Tomorrow's Gonna Be A Brighter Day/New York's Not My Home/Hard Time Losin' Man/Photographs & Memories/Walkin' Back To Georgia/Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)/Time In A Bottle/Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)/Box No. 10/A Long Time Ago/Hey Tomorrow

Breakthrough album for the social realist songwriter Jim Croce who specialised in character studies around the everyday lives of ordinary Americans. Includes the US top 20 hits Operator and the title track. (US:1)

“Croce really came into his own with this album. He had been recording on and off for a number of years and had quit the business entirely at one point. He then recorded three amazing and personal albums that far surpassed anything he'd ever written or recorded before. His style was a mixture of character songs, with a lot of humour. Hs love songs are some of the most heartfelt tunes and lyrics ever written. This album is a must for any Croce fan.”

“An acoustic singer songwriter album, a pretty decent one too. The two finger picked guitar sound is down pretty tight and Croce's voice goes well with the folky melodies.”

“This is a very warm and largely optimistic album containing little truths delivered by a man who has done some living on both sides of the track, and knows how to speak about it in a way that makes you want to listen. His songs have an intricacy to them that I’ve always liked. This is a good album overall but there's a few songs that are may be slightly sub-par.”

“A formidable set from a grossly neglected and underrated singer-songwriter. Nice blend of love songs, introspective material and character sketches. Definitely worth searching out.”

“Croce is just so real, straight from the heart; nothing syrupy or fake. He'd had a couple of near breakthroughs before this one. He pulled out all the stops, and what resulted was an outpouring of the most inspired material of his career. His other records are good, but this is in its own class. For every song here that you'll find on the usual greatest hits collections, there's an equally good lesser-known gem.”

“There are not many artists who combine real-life stories with incredible music. The guitar work alone is fantastic. Add in some of the most quality lyrical stories in modern music and you get near perfection.”