1. Where's Love Come From
2. Hoss Race
3. The Garden
4. Red Dog In The Morning
5. Phantom Phone Call
6. Megna's
7. Chameleon
8. Father Forgive Me
9. The Only Way To Never Hurt
10. Get Out There And Dance
11. This World Was Made For Everyone
12. When In Rome
13. World Of Trouble
14. Safe In Your Arms
15. Crooked Road
16. Nothing To Say
Album Description
IBMA and GRAMMY award winner Tim O'Brien is a singer of unusual clarity and originality, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist of rare ability, and an incisive songwriter who has made a lasting mark on Americana music. Chameleon is O'Brien's first since the simultaneous release of Cornbread Nation and Fiddler's Green in 2006 which won him a Grammy in the Best Traditional Folk Category.
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Chameleon
- Audio CD: 0 pages (2008-03-25)
- Publisher: Proper American
- Label: Proper American
- Studio: Proper American
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 38 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #8511
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Was Hoping For Better or Perhaps Something Different 2008-11-21
Comment: The star rating is probably more of a reflection of my expectations than it is a matter of performance. I'm a huge fan of bluegrass music and Tim O'Brien's name is one I always saw floating around and heard a lot about without ever actually hearing his music. I'd see his name on festival lineups, etc. and figured it'd probably be something I'd be really into. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I've listened to this album several times and not much of it has really grabbed me. There are indeed some outstanding and musically interesting songs here that have cool rhythms and compelling music, but I don't care for the "singer-songwriter" kind of stuff that's also present. The two styles don't stand well side by side. I feel like maybe the record tries to cover too much ground and that it would be stronger if it decided to go one way or the other rather than trying to be all things.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: I've really liked most of what Tim O'Brien has done, but... 2008-08-10
Comment: ...this has the feel of a half-baked demo. I won't be listening to it a second time.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: A SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS 2008-08-05
Comment: Since Tim decided to be all "political" and then decided to sing out "i'm afraid of that gay marriage"... well, he lost me forever. How people like him are said to be so great and loving, yet are actually just judgemental and full of bigotry and hatred will go on and on forever. So he may as well join all those other lousy people like himself who are part of the problem and not the solution who should stop recording music because they really have nothing REAL to say. Sad.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A Chameleon Indeed 2008-06-07
Comment: I have to say that Tim O'Brien's album is a bit of a chameleon. The use of antique instruments led me to think the music would have a bit of a historical flare a la Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Seesions, but not really. O'Brien's album had more of a modern folk quality mostly due to the lyrics which taken on the current political and cultural climate at times.
I also found Tim O'Brien to have a voice that isn't at all unlike Jimmy Buffett's. That isn't a bad thing, but it led my mind to expect more Jimmy Buffett like music than Tim O'Brien.
Thus, I think the Chameleon title comes through. Never-the-less, Tim O'Brien does have talent. Get past the pre-listening expectations and initial listen expectations, the song writing is fantastic. It has a folk-country sound that echoes to Bob Dylan's talent (although not nearly as good). Then again, Tim O'Brien's voice is much easier to listen too.
When you put it all together, and give it a few listens, Tim O'Brien emerges from the background... The chameleon is visible, and you have an artist that stands out with an album that isn't bad at all.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: If There's Any Justice 2008-06-03
Comment: If there's any justice in the recording industry (and I have my doubts) Chameleon is going to take the Best Folk Recording of 2008. "Chameleon" is a CD worth owning. Download tracks if you must, but this CD is of a whole, and it hits all the right notes. According to the liner notes, Tim O'Brien took his instruments (and he plays a lot of them at virtuoso level) and a bunch of song ideas into the woodshed and didn't come out until he had this recording. Time well spent.
"Chameleon" kicks off with a bluesy guitar riff that gets you bouncing from the first few bars. I'm put in the mind of Leon Redbone but with more ooomph. In fact there are a number of cuts on this CD that remind me of other artists: Norman Blake, Tom Paxton, and even the great John Prine, but the tunes are derivative in only the best sense that this is rooted American music that builds on tradition. That may account for the title, Mr. O'Brien might change his colors, but he remains a lizard throughout.
Mr. O'Brien is also just a little ticked off at the state of the world, and the individual cupidity that keeps things running down. Hence the Tom Paxton influence. Politics with a humorous edge - good for kids and adults.
It's not often I'm able to give anything a whole-hearted recommendation, but "Chameleon" is one of the few gems out there that shines in any light.
Buy it! Buy the whole thing! You'll like it.
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Chameleon
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