The Other Side - Tiny Tim

Tiny Tim's reputation precedes the hell out of him: 'He's the dude who sings with that annoying voice, right?' or 'The ukulele guy?' or 'That gross guy with the face and the hair?'

Yes. Tiny Tim often sang in falsetto. Yes. Tiny Tim played the majority of his music upon the Ukulele. Yes. Tiny Tim was unusual looking to say the least. The fact that this man with grease paint on his face was for a brief period one of, if not the, biggest pop star in The United States was a truly incredible feat.

However when you listen to his first album, God Bless Tiny Tim, it all becomes a bit clearer. Tiny's consummate performance is given a grandiose psychedelic pop paint job by producer Richard Perry (who would go on to produce artists such as Harry Nilsson). Recorded in 1968 with the majority of it's numbers written between 1901-and the late 1920s, Tiny's debut still sounds piercingly fresh today largely due to how bizarre it was in the first place, and is well worth your time to seek out.

The track we are looking at today is The Other Side, one of the few numbers written contemporaneously with the album by a man named Bill Dorsey (a man who we will discuss a bit further another day).

The Other Side is a whirlwind of a song. First there's cryptic tone poetry about the Earth having drowned in a watery apocalypse accompanied by staccato bass plucks. But then! Urgent, slightly discordant pianos and synths build up the pacing as Tiny begins to tense and menace. But then! The booming orchestra-gone-drinking-song punch line of a chorus kicks in as the song joyously announces 'The Ice Caps Are Melting! Oh-ho-ho-ho! All the world is drowning!'

The whole song (and album) has an incredible sense of theatre about it. It's gripping, dramatic, and camp as hell. These are widescreen technicolor marvels for the ear.

And he barely sings in a falsetto.