Bill Harley – The Best Candy In The Whole World CD Review

Posted by Jeff on September 17, 2010 at 7:20 am

BILL HARLEY “THE BEST CANDY IN THE WHOLE WORLD”

One of the reasons I love music in a live setting is the chance it affords to hear new songs. I understand that many concertgoers disagree with this sentiment, preferring instead to hear the greatest hits and other familiar album cuts devoid of any deviation, but for me the real value of a live show comes when the artist cracks the seal on something so fresh that they may even stumble with the chord progression or the lyrics.

My position is consistent whether there is a band, comedian or storyteller on stage. When we saw Bill Harley perform in Philly last year, he debuted a new story – much to my delight. The 20-minute tale, which may have been shorter back then in it’s unfinished state, has ended up as the title track to his new collection of stories, “The Best Candy In The Whole World”. It was edge-of-the-seat good then and it’s even better here.

Bill Harley Live at Kindiefest 2010

Harley’s new album is the all-ages follow-up to the 2008 Grammy winning “Yes To Running!” and continues his multi-decade run as one of America’s premier storytellers for middle-grade kids (and their reminiscent elders). It’s not a surprise that the New Englander is a frequent contributor to NPR, seeing as how many of his tales meet the ‘driveway moment’ requirements – meaning you can’t bare to turn off the car for fear of missing the story’s dramatic and/or humorous conclusion.

That mystically sweet title track, the one we 1st heard many months ago, encapsulates Bill Harley as national treasure; his voice is the confluence of humor, grace, magic and insight. His stories are ear candy for listeners 3 to 83 – the best ear candy in the whole world, one might say.

There are four other tracks on the hour+plus long album, including the guitar-picked “A Walk Around the Block”. Here, Harley’s goofiness dominates and delights. The Bear was in stitches during this wacky father & son conversation, at the notion of walking around outer space, and upon hearing the boy’s “definition” of what is and isn’t possible. Hilarious, simply hilarious.

Bill Harley keeps the guitar close for “Sillier Than You”. If you think your sibling is an absolute weirdo, the strangest person on Earth even, this tune might just change your opinion on the matter. “Jack and the Singing Leaves”, a story that is a kinda, sorta male version of Cinderella, is not a Harley original but is still riveting and gets funnier as it progresses. Bill explains the origin of the story on his fantastic blog here.

If you’re not yet listening to Bill Harley, now is the time. If you already love him, you need to add “The Best Candy in the Whole World” to your collection.

*Bill Harley’s “The Best Candy in the Whole World” was provided to OWTK for review. The opinions above are unbiased and true, no arm-twisting took place in the review process.