The first track gets right into the music. There is no introduction or anything, no immediate indication that it is a live recording. Yet soon we hear folks singing along, so this must have been a song Paul had been playing out for a while, so that the audience would be familiar with it. The song, "I Will Keep You Warm," is exactly the kind of song we need in these rough days. "I will keep you warm/I'll keep the fire burning/Keep you dry in the storm/When winter is returning true to form/I will keep you warm." Robin Greenstein provides some excellent backing vocal work. And this track includes some really nice work on harmonica. "Let me take your cup and I will fill it/With as much as it can hold." Look out for each other, friends. Keep each other safe in these unsavory times. There is applause at the end of the track. "I Will Keep You Warm" is followed by "Blow, Winds, Blow," the title of this one making me think of King Lear on the heath ("Blow winds and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow!"). But this song has a decidely different vibe. The family of this song is certainly more functional than that of Lear. It's a sweet song full of love for a couple getting married, told from the perspective of their parents. I love the way the song urges them to experience life. "So blow, winds, blow/Flow, rivers, flow/Grow, children, grow." Kenny Kosek delivers some uplifting work on fiddle.
"I'm Feeling Blue" has a delightful, fun, light, jazzy vibe. "I'm not looking for someone else/I don't want to live by myself/But I'm feeling blue lately when I'm with you," Paul sings at the beginning. But we get the feeling, or at least the hope, that these guys will work it out, especially when he sings, "No one but you can make me sigh/No one but you can make me high." This track features a particularly wonderful vocal performance, and some excellent work on fiddle, those elements making this track one of my personal favorites. It is followed by the album's title track, "The King Of Hearts." Paul introduces this one, and it begins with some good work on guitar. There is some humor to this one, as he sings, "He's a royal pain in the neck," a wonderful nod to the fact that the king holds a sword just behind his head in the picture on the playing card. Will a pain in his own neck result? This song has a great classic folk feel, as it tells a timeless story. "I ran out into the road/But all that I could find/Was a golden band from her left hand/That she had left behind, that she had left behind."
While the title of "Blow, Winds, Blow" had me briefly thinking of King Lear, "Take Out The Garbage When You Go" actually does mention a Shakespeare play in its first lines: "You tell me that you're leaving/That our love has lost its glow/Though you were once my Juliet/And I your Romeo." Soon it becomes a delightful, humorous song, as he asks her to please take out the garbage when she goes. This is another song that benefits from an audience singing along. I wonder if he taught the audience the song in an introduction, which was then cut from the final recording, or if the folks already knew their part. This is one you might also find yourself singing along to before very long. Or at least laughing. There is audible laughter from the audience at certain points, as in reaction to the line "My house is filled with smells." And your laughter will likely join that on the recording. This track features some nice work on fiddle. Then "Orphans Of The Storm" has a more somber, serious sound. It's a song about this country, and though it was written many decades ago, it speaks to us right now. "America the beautiful/Certainly has changed/She wears a lot of makeup/But she'll never be the same." The chorus is delivered with a certain power, and it's easy to imagine, say, David Crosby singing it: "We are orphans of the storm/With no father and no mother/We are orphans of the storm/With no home to go to/We are orphans of the storm/With nobody but each other."
Paul Kaplan then gives us a drinking and dancing song, "Wedding In The Village." Amen to that. "Oh ho, won't you come and join the fun/A wedding in the village/A festival for everyone/Oo-wee, the sun keeps coming up/So let's all drink another round/From the loving cup." It's a song that sounds like a celebration, a song that makes us want to introduce ourselves to strangers, and think of everyone as a friend (it's hard to remember that feeling these days, but music is what can help). And I love the traditional folk dance at the end, this song coupled with "Rondeau From Gascony," a traditional song. It feels perfect. Lisa Roth joins the band on tambourine on this track. That's followed by another traditional number, "Heather On The Moor." Paul Kaplan is a perfect voice to deliver it, for he has the ability to tap into that timeless something. He has that quality in his voice. Not everyone does. He delivers a wonderful rendition, inviting us to step into another place outside of the now.
"I Had An Old Coat" feels like a traditional folk song. It has that kind of vibe. Part of it is the audience singing along, making us feel that the song has been around for a long time. And, actually, the story behind this song has apparently been around a long time, even if this specific song hasn't. Again, you'll likely find yourself singing along too. I certainly do each time I listen to this song. "And I sing every day of my life." This track includes some good work on fiddle. That's followed by a traditional number, "The Greenwood Lassie," an Irish song, usually presented as "Greenwood Laddie." This one has a different vibe, for Paul Kaplan plays the cuatro on it, immediately transporting us. The focus then is on his voice, on the lyrics, and he gives us a beautiful rendition. That is followed by "Money," a funny number that had me laughing out loud almost immediately. "Well, here's a tip for you: make money," he sings. Remember, this was the 1980s, that awful time of Reagan, a time of greed. The nation is still suffering because of that despicable person's time in office, and now we have an even worse person in the White House. There are a lot of laughs here. Part of the humor is the way he delivers it, and part of it is a line like "No matter how you get it, they call it legal tender," which is brilliant. And there is a reference to The Merchant Of Venice: "What buys flesh by the pound?" Paul delivers some good work on harmonica too. This song is delightful.
"Phil (For Phil Ochs)" is a pretty, tender song, opening with the line, "Phil, what went wrong? Why are you quiet now?" Phil Ochs was an excellent and influential songwriter who killed himself in 1976. He wrote about the events of his day, songs that were seen as protest songs. We could use his songwriting now, don't you agree? And in this song, Paul sings, "Phil, where's your song? I really need it now." I suppose we'll always need those songs. The album concludes with another somber number, "Just Another War." And, guess what, this country is now involved in another war, this time purely to distract a stupid population from the fact that the president raped children. Yeah, we're in seriously ugly territory now, the country hitting a shocking new low. And that, of course, is not the only war going on. Russia is still involved in its depraved activity, and Israel seems to have gone completely nuts in Gaza. As far as countries go, I've always appreciated Maude's take: "What sense in borders and nations and patriotism?" Here Paul sings, "Governments, flags/Borders all are fleeting/In an hour they disappear/But somehow the drums of war/Never stop their beating/Year after bloody year."
CD Track List
- I Will Keep You Warm
- Blow, Winds, Blow
- I'm Feeling Blue
- The King Of Hearts
- Take Out The Garbage When You Go
- Orphans Of The Storm
- Wedding In The Village/Rondeau From Gascony
- Heather On The Moor
- I Had An Old Coat
- The Greenwood Lassie
- Money
- Phil (For Phil Ochs)
- Just Another War
This special reissue of King Of Hearts was released on February 1, 2026. This is the first time the album has been made available on CD.
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