Paul Hampton - Rest Home For Children (1973)

This is one of the silliest, wildest, most creatively bizarre albums in my collection, and it unsuspectingly comes from a guy who wrote songs with Burt Bacharach. Granted, even then, Paul Hampton's unhinged songwriting style was on display, considering they made a spoken word piece about a couple getting into a deadly car accident immediately after their wedding. He also wrote and performed the bizarre theme song to the equally bizarre 60's sitcom My Mother The Car. On top of being a highly inventive and humorous songwriter and musician, Paul Hampton has had a long career as a television and film actor, starring in many B-Movies and Sci-Fi TV shows throughout the last 3-4 decades.

What I have here is Paul Hampton's second, and as far as I know, final LP, "Rest Home For Children." Paul explores a variety of styles here, varying from piano ballads, Folk songs, poppy Country songs, Waltzes, and even funky Soul ballads. What shows even more variety is his subject matter. He sings about the feeling of being suddenly trampled by old age. He sings about the insecurities brought on by Cosmopolitan Magazine. He sings a ballad from the perspective of a hotel room key. He sings about rats... with lists... and ships. He even uses some of his acting skills to portray a cantankerous roller rink DJ, a crazy man who speaks - or sings - to himself, and a piano bar entertainer - and his audience members. 

It's hard to say whether this album might be your thing or not, because after so many listens, I'm still not entirely certain what kind of thing it is. However, this album always makes me laugh and sparks my imagination. It makes me realize that a song can be about anything, and a great songwriter should be able to write a great song about everything or nothing at all. Paul Hampton is one of the few who can pull it off with style.  

HERE.