The late Tiny Tim will forever stand as the greatest maverick American genius, as a shining example of total honesty in the face of everything that would make us untrue and - most of all - as one of the sweetest balladeers of the 20th century. And he always looked so great, like a cute vaudevillian Nosferatu, all pancaked in make-up and holding his ukulele high. In 1968, America was still euphoric enough to take his beautifully unpretentious worldview to heart. His big break came on Rowan & Martin's first ever Laugh-In where he stole hearts with a teary rendition of his signature song, Tip-Toe Through The Tulips. With the freak flag still flying high, confused execs at Reprise, Sinatra's label, were somehow convinced to sign him up and his debut album for the company, God Bless Tiny Tim, is still his most affectionately remembered. As a set of songs - most of which have that sad, dream-lit quality of old ballroom standards - it seems totally out of step with the time in which it was birthed, which was much more Street Fighting Man than Ever Since You Told Me That You Love Me (I'm A Nut). Still, something clicked and the counter-culture took Tim to their hearts, with even Dylan inviting him along to jam on his Basement Tapes. He died in 1996, on stage, still singing Tip-Toe Through The Tulips but I'm willing to bet that somewhere in eternity he's dancing still, to an old-fashioned song with a heart as big as a fist.

This review of "God Bless Tiny Tim" was from the Sunday Herald website: (http://www.sundayherald.com/bestalbums7.shtml)