Time Can Be So Magic

Nothing homespun here; Time Can Be So Magic is one smooth collection of tunes. Thomas’ original songs, most of which have been featured on Captain Kangaroo, lean toward ballads in the soft, heartfelt Gordon Lightfoot tradition.

Thomas is most successful with sweet emotional songs such as ”Papa” (”Hold on and don’t let go/I love you so”) and the melancholy ”Hard to Say Good-bye” (”Something’s lost though something’s gained”).

His lighthearted stuff is less distinctive, but it’s not bad. ”Giggles” is unnaturally cheerful, which would be annoying if not for its reggae-style energy. ”Eatin’ Sketti” is as cheerful as ”Giggles,” but it’s funny too: ”Spaghetti? No! Pascelli? No! Scavelli? No! It’s sketti and it’s ready and I’m gonna eat a lot!”

What Thomas and his band of backup artists — including Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul, and Mary) — lack in wit, they make up for in sheer professionalism.

”Hug Me Tight” is not much of a lyric, but what an arrangement! It culminates in something that sounds like a 40-member gospel choir, every last person armed with a snare drum.

Altogether, more than OK. B+