Following the success of “Cats In The Cradle,” people undoubtedly had to be asking Harry Chapin, “Now what?”
Indeed, how would any artist follow up what was their biggest hit, one which catapaulted his previous album Verities & Balderdash to number four on the Billboard album charts—the only time he would crack the top 10, and one of two times he’s make it into the top 50.
So it’s understandable that Portrait Gallery, Chapin’s fifth studio album, was always going to be under the shadow of its more famous predecessor. And, it is indeed a step down from what he had previously done—but it’s not a disappointment by any stretch of the word. If anything, the disc is done in a bit by overproduction, not poor songwriting or performances.
Often, there seems to be an echo on Chapin’s voice, which is a bit off-putting and distracts from the stories that he tried to tell within the boundaries of these 10 songs. While there is no “gotcha” moment like on Verities & Balderdash, Chapin comes close with songs like “Dreams Go By” (which laments the loss of the hopes we have in the days of our youth), “Tangled Up Puppet” and “Dirt Gets Under The Fingernails.” In terms of performance, Chapin and his band remain on pointe.
There is one track that, in today’s day and age, comes off a little cringy—namely, “Babysitter.” Look, I get it… it was a different time and era. Even Motorhead’s “Jailbait” makes me think twice these days. Just the idea of a 16-year-old girl schooling a 12-year-old boy in the ways of the world makes my skin crawl a little bit.
One also has to remember that this album was written and recorded in the mid-’70s. So, a song like “Bummer,” replete with guitar licks that sound like they were lifted from the latest R&B track of the time, might sound a bit odd, especially knowing that Chapin got his start with essentially an acoustic setup. This is another example of the echo effect distracting from the song—which, clocking in at nine minutes, actually required the listener to pay more attention to the story.
Aside from “Dreams Go By” being the sole single culled from this disc, Portrait Gallery doesn’t have tracks that you might have heard on FM radio even to this day. And, that’s okay, because this disc seems to be one that demands to be taken at its own merits—and, yes, even its flaws.
Portrait Gallery is not the easiest of Chapin’s albums to find on CD, but if you can put aside the expectations of hearing “Cats In The Cradle, Part 2,” you’ll find there is plenty to take note of on this disc. All in all, a flawed but respectable follow-up.
