FAN QUOTES
“Al Simmons is a master of laughter and he doesn't disappoint with his latest offering of music and whimsey.He treats us to the puns we have come to love and expect, plus the music is top notch and tales are tall.”
-Brian Richardson
“This is a delightful collection of songs and bears listening and re-listening to appreciate its full depth and breadth.”
-Diane Isaac
"The Whistling Egg Man and other tall tales" will expand the vocabularies of many people, young and old.” Hank Fisher
I spent the morning listening to you digging holes and cleaning alligator teeth and waltzing and whistling and so much more. You are such a joyful human being and that joy came through my speakers all morning. Thanks for sharing your love.
-Derek Scott
Some of his best jokes/lines are lost on the younger set. Al is the BEST!
-Wendell Ferguson
Hi Al, you still got it!! Love the polar bear, alligator and fire fly tunes!! Congratulations!
-Bill
That’s absolutely wonderful Al. I loved every single one of those cuts. Well done. Keep on trucking.
-VictorPasta
Your CD is wonderful ! This will expand the vocabularies of many people, young and old! The music is top notch and tales are tall. My favs are Digging A Hole and Breaking Stuff.
We Came Here Too Late is very touching, could this be a peak behind the curtain at the unvarnished artiste? The whole CD is perfectlyyou and you are a treasureof creativity that has always left me in awe in a most inspiring way.
-Hank Fisher
Each time Nathaniel and I listen to your new CD, we love it more and more --including your made-up words. I personally enjoy the enthusiasm in your voice when you tell your stories and jokes, the majesty of your sustained notes, and your sensitivity for the sad songs. The guest artists are mesmerizing.
The number of artists on your album suggests to me that you have a large fan base within the music community, and not just with families like us. Your new CD is six out of five stars--better than six flies--and you should get a real (not honorary) award for it!
Thank you,
-Sarah Mercer
Each song is a gem. Inventive word play abounds!
-Peter Sarmatiuk
Al’s genius never fails to amaze me. Stuck in rush hour traffic during road construction season —listening to Al’s CD twice over saved me from despondency
-Susan
I just listened to your new CD and I LOVE IT!!! Al - you really are in a class of creativity all to yourself. You inspire me - you entertain me - you make me laugh out loud - you make me happy. Would that more artists had your brilliance. The new CD is in the very rare class of CDs that as soon as you hear it you go - wait - I have to listen to this about a hundred more times just to get everything. Well done brother. You hit another one out of the park. SO proud of you!!!
-Heather Bishop
Hey Al, I'm really impressed with your new CD. Like WOW! Oh the plentiful puns, the plethora of piquant puns parading.
First off, the music is great! I'm having trouble picking out a favourite, but here are some of my top tunes.
Digging a Hole and Breaking Stuff, the 2 Polar Bear songs, Heart of the Boreal, and of course, The Whistling Egg Man.
Calling Five Flies, Six Flies, would have given too much away. Good call.
Is there any deep significance, in the fact that song #5 (Farm and Zoo) answers the age old question that has eluded philosophers for ages? Will philosophy disappear?
Thanks so much for creating the wonderful CD.
-Garry Stewart
Al Simmons doesn't disappoint with "The Whistling Egg Man", his latest offering of music and whimsey.
He treats us to the puns we have come to love and expect, notedly inAlligator Teeth: "I've loved reptiles from the gecko" and "the molar of the story" are but two. Perhaps the best (or worst) is the groaner bilingual pun inThe Whistling Egg Man.You'll have to listen.
InBreaking Stuff, Al takes us on a romp of destruction through all kinds of breaking, from breaking up to breaking wind to Chuck Yeager's breaking the sound barrier: Another typical blending of pure zaniness and education,Balloon Bearmanages to combine a discussion of flatulence and Newton's Third Law of Motion.
We learn about the boreal forest inIn the Heart of the Boreal.Who else do we know who can weave the precambrian shield and photosynthesis into a song?
Al has described the CD's title song as a "tall-tale, far fetched story...", which it indeed is, with more puns and fantastical images. But ever the teacher, he also lets us know in his Author's Note where we can reference the true story of the Yukon and its amazing Han people.
For me, however, the biggest surprise of "The Whistling Egg Man" does not come from puns or delightfully goofy yet instructional lyrics, but from the poignantWe Came Here Too Late.For the first time, listening to an Al Simmons song brought a catch to my throat and a tear to my eye. While Al's mad cap songs offer something to little kids and the children in all of us,We Came Here Too Lateis for all the aging children, looking back over long lives.
This is a delightful collection of songs and bears listening and re-listening to appreciate its full depth and breadth.
-Diane Isaac
After a long journey we have arrived home, and part of the reason we made it here in good moods was your CD, Al. I listened to it first (while Mike fell asleep) then Mike listened to it (while I fell asleep). We seem to do that when we drive. Thank goodness we don’t fall asleep while driving!
It is so wonderful to hear your rich voice, Al, and to be blessed by a whole bunch more of your creativity. You gather so many fine musicians to accompany you (not to mention great singers) and know just how to arrange them to make your songs shine. On top of that, you continue to follow that fine tradition of story telling in your music which makes me want to listen again and again. A great way to roll along the Canadian Shield by the sparkling lakes.
A note on the two songs which we already downloaded during the pandemic. Those two songs were a beacon then - people were still making music in a time of isolation! We listened over and over, especially the Firefly Waltz. Al, your voice gave us such joy. And here they are again in much more fine fettle. I listened closely to Digging a Hole in the Ground and realized that it embodied a lot of what I felt I had to be doing during that time. Even if I was just digging a hole, at least I was doing something and could see an accomplishment.
And there is just not enough to say about the Firefly Waltz. Mike and I have multiple left feet, but it got us up dancing and weeping and believing that the world could make it through that time, and now again, through this time of Social Media Grumpiness.
Thanks for creating the CD!.
-Jackie
When you watch or listen to Al Simmons perform you are connecting to a long tradition of unique entertainers. He has it all. Humour, wit, sometimes pathos and, of course, music are the gifts used by this master of laughter. Al loves to play and does so with words and phrases as you hear him bring his individual style to this CD, The Whistling Egg Man and Other Tall Tales. To accompany him on this wondrous adventure Al has an assembly of marvelous musicians to add to the delight.
On track one Al is Digging a Hole in the ground. He makes such a seemingly mundane chore into a lesson on what lies beneath the surface as well as the possible reasons for his digging. Most of all he finds an opportunity for play and exercise. In fact he exercises considerable word play on his way down.
Then he tracks to the Arctic region to meet a Polar Bear and lets us know that in spite of the image of the cuddly creature that has been applied by those who have never met her, she’s more likely to eat you than cuddle you. In his inimitable style Al presents facts about the life of the polar bear, and manages further word play in the process.
And just in case you haven’t quite got the picture of how dangerous the polar bear is, Al completes it with the Polar Bear Rap. Of course, he wraps in fun as well as a warning.
While on the subject of dangerous animals Al presents a tall tale about an alligator. You can also expect a string of puns to polish the tale off. Or maybe not the tail; after all, this track is called Alligator Teeth.
Of course, not all the animals Al is dealing with are wild, some are domesticated and some are kept in the zoo. Following another great tradition Al gives us a recitation, naturally with musical accompaniment. Here is a tall tale built around an age old yoke (sorry, slip of the typing fingers.) Of course, a recitation is best with rhymes and there are enough to satisfy any versifier in Farm and Zoo.
Still in the animal kingdom Al takes a whimsical visit to a song by James Gordon: The Waltz of the Fireflies. It too is a tall tale, although on a small scale, accompanied by music that catches its spirit.
In another ecological niche, much larger, Al plunges into the Heart of the Boreal, the forest where so many species exist amidst the mix of trees. What he and Ken Whiteley have concocted is a reminder of how invaluable this globe spanning forest is in keeping our planet healthy. This you might say is not a tall tale, unless you count the trees which tower over the life they hold.
Al has admitted in the past he collects rocks. But now he asks the important question, What Do You Do With Your Rocks? He offers many intriguing solutions, although for a collector the problem is ongoing.
Once more Al returns to the animal kingdom with Balloon Bear. Here is a science fiction tale which manages to make it even taller, all told to the jolly pulse of a sousaphone. It may not be the final frontier but it’s quite far fetched.
Five Flies is a work that responds to the annoyance that flies can create. Composed by Grant Nelson Hewlett the tale is a simple one and Al takes a swat at it with his inimitable energy.
The world of trouble always calls for the blues. Al breaks into the blues with Breaking Stuff, a celebration of clumsy that rocks. He’s got a smashing band to back him too. You’ve got to give a break to a guy making such a confession.
The title track is a tall tale which highlights Al’s agility with rhyme and word play. The Whistling Egg Man tells of Klondike days and therein Al spins a supple yarn that echoes such diverse influences as Hans Christian Anderson and Charlie Chaplin. All this is done to music that underlines the moods of the tale. And it ends with a pun! Classic Al!
Still in the Yukon, We Came Here Too Late is, in Al’s unique telling, a true tale. He sets the scene with humour and eases us into the melancholy core of the narrative as it tells, in his words, of the most important things it seemed were those that we forgot. Keri Latimer who composed the melody adds her voice to the song, which is played with appropriate aplomb by the accompanying musicians. Here is a reminder that those who make us laugh can also make us cry.
Just to send us off with an uplift Al gathers a cheery musical crew to remind us, in the words of Hank Fisher and Terry McEvoy, that The World’s a Better Place (Because You’re In It). There’s a real old timey feel to boost the spirits. A perfect exit!
There’s no doubt that The Whistling Egg Man and Other Tall Tales carries the wealth of Al Simmons years of performance and is filled with all the influences that have made his performances a joy for young and old alike. Let’s not call it a culmination, nor a compilation, but rather a celebration of this singular talent and the joyful accompaniment of the musical friends he has accumulated over the years.
Listen to The Whistling Egg Man and you’ll immediately think, Al is a Smith. No, you’ll say. Al is a Simmons. Yes he is, and Al Simmons is a smith. After all, a smith is a person who shapes metal. Al’s mettle is words. (Aha, a synonym! Get the dictionary! ) Al shapes words. Just like metal smiths bend and tap to create something special and unique Al does that with words; he’s a wordsmith! Al also loves to play, so as he shapes words into rhymes, songs, and stories he plays with them. He cooks up puns, flips catchphrases, wrestles rhymes, and runs rhythm through all sorts of things. It’s ornamentation, the sort of thing smiths are wont to add. Al is also tall, and clearly some of the stories he shapes are tall tales. So, there’s lots to listen for as you lend an ear to The Whistling Egg Man. Better yet, keep your ears so you can hear all that Al includes.
-Brian Richardson
