For most people, the career of Harry Chapin begins and ends with “Cat’s in the Cradle.” Some die-hards might also bring up “Six String Orchestra,” which was immortalized in a Muppet Show sketch, but Chapin’s place in the cultural consciousness doesn’t extend much past that.

But superfan that my father was, many of my earliest musical memories are centered around the folk singer. This album in particular would often stream out of the family stereo in our old house, my sister and I running and dancing and singing along. And while “30,000 Pounds of Bananas” carries the most specific memories (alongside “The Rock” from Portrait Gallery, which I remembered being on this disc), coming to Greatest Stories Live as an adult brings an appreciation for Chapin’s effortless storytelling that makes me realize my dad might have known what he was talking about.

While I wasn’t able to remember any of these songs by their titles besides “Cradle” and “Bananas,” every one of these tracks slowly comes into form as they’re emerging from the fog of ancient memory. Guitar lines, melodies, and even Chapin’s self-deprecating stage banter (such as his interruption, “did I write that? It sounds like the theme to Godfather 2″ on opener “Dreams Go By“) are remembered perfectly as I hear them, transporting me back to large stereo cabinet in the living room of that house.

And as I remember songs like “W-O-L-D,” “A Better Place to Be,” “Taxi,” and of course “Cradle” and “Bananas,” it strikes me that Harry Chapin might be the reason I don’t like Billy Joel. Joel’s songwriting is marked with the same sort of storytelling, but it’s never impressed me. At times it’s even struck me as inauthentic. But then, Harry Chapin might be a poor bar to judge the authenticity of other songwriters’ storytelling against. Most of his songs are based in real-world events—many of which he pauses to explain before in these performances (or sometimes in the middle, such as in the twelve-minute “Bananas,” which I did not remember being twelve minutes long as a child). There’s a conviction here that belies the technical shortcomings of his voice (which isn’t bad, but is certainly characteristic).

And if I’m completely honest, I’m surprised how well these songs hold up. I was expecting this to be a sentimental purchase that might satisfy some childhood nostalgia. Instead, it’s a properly enjoyable record that showcases one of the best storytellers in rock and roll history—as well as his humor, showmanship, and charisma.