Personnel: Tim Hardin (vocals, guitar, piano), Gary Burton, Phil Krauss (vibraphones), Walter Yost, Bob Bushnell, Felix Pappalardi (bass), Buddy Saltzman, Earl Palmer, Sticks Evans (drums).

Compilation producer: Jerry Rappaport.

Recorded between May, 1964 and August, 1966. Includes liner notes by Colin Escott.

This is part of the Chronicles Deluxe Anthology series.

HANG ON TO A DREAM collects every studio recording Tim Hardin made for the Verve/Forecast label. It includes 30 selections originally released on his four self-titled albums, as well as 17 previously unreleased recordings.

Along with Bob Dylan, Eric Andersen, and a host of others, Tim Hardin changed the public's notion of songwriting in the '60s with innovative, idiosyncratic compositions and recordings that furthered the burgeoning folk-rock movement. Hardin was more closely aligned with the Fred Neil/Tim Buckley school of jazz- and blues-inflected folk rock. He didn't venture as far into improvisation and extended form as Neil and Buckley (most of his songs were extremely concise and even minimalistic), but his jazzy phrasing and lightly swinging rhythms were a revelation in the world of folk music.

This definitive collection compiles all the studio recordings Hardin made for Verve in the '60s--the prime period in his recording career--plus a wealth of previously unreleased tracks that offer heretofore unavailable glimpses into the career of this mysterious, mercurial artist. Hardin's smoky voice had a weariness and sadness that was mitigated by a breathy gentility, as on the quiet, samba-inflected "Misty Roses." Though countless artists covered Hardin's tunes, he was his own best interpreter, navigating the knotty pathways of unconventionally structured compositions such as "You Upset the Grace of Living When You Lie" with deceptive ease, and delivering the now-standard "If I Were a Carpenter" with passion and urgency.

Rolling Stone (10/6/94, p.90) - 4.5 Stars - Excellent - "...The music reveals another truth: Nearly 30 years later, Hardin's epigrammatic - and timeless - art speaks volumes..."

No Depression (p.102) - "A wispy-voiced jazzy/bluesy singer who played mostly to folk audiences....[His songs] are intimate and introspective, with a certain spare semi-poetic flair; he doesn't waste a word."

New York Times (Publisher) (2/20/94, p.30) - "...HANG ON TO A DREAM is more than a hits sampler; it also reminds us that no one ever sang those songs like the writer himself...[Hardin's] songs were terse and economical...and the arrangements foresook traditional folk-rock instrumentation...Hardin is still waiting for everyone to catch up..."