Customer Reviews

Two Sides of Dave Van Ronk

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When he died on February 10 of this year, obituaries tended to focus on Dave Van Ronk's friendship with Bob Dylan and his influence on Dylan's early work. ("Influence" is perhaps a charitable word. On his first album Dylan stole Van Ronk's arrangement of "House of the Rising Sun" lock, stock, and barrel. Later, the Animals based their version on Dylan's version of Van Ronk's version, probably without ever having heard of Van Ronk.) As those of us who treasure his music know, however, Van Ronk was more than just an influence. He was an extraordinary singer and guitar player in his own right, creator of a distinctive style which fused African-American vernacular genres with other musics from Anglo-American folk tradition, Tin Pan Alley, art-song writers Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and Brecht/Weill, and more. It was somehow, in the end, a seamless whole called Van Ronk music. Nobody did it better, and nobody else would have even attempted to fashion a coherent whole out of so many disparate elements.

This welcome reissue brings to CD two old Van Ronk albums, one recorded in 1963 in New York City, the other in 1981 in London. Some of the cuts on the former (which comprises the first 12 songs on this single CD) have Van Ronk comfortably fronting the Red Onion Jazz Band, underscoring the singer's roots in early jazz. In the second Van Ronk revisits old favorites, with just his guitar for company. He needs no more than that to turn in versions of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" and Brownie McGhee's "Sportin' Life" that will stop you in your tracks. One of two originals, "Gaslight Rag" good-humoredly revisits the Village folk scene, where it all started for Van Ronk, Dylan, Phil Ochs, and others who brought new life to American music by reminding Americans where it came from.

More odd explorations from this late acoustic blues iconoclast. This CD reissues two of Van Ronk's later, lesser-known albums -- on 1963's _In The Tradition_, he indulges a sweet tooth for Dixieland jazz, backed by the cheerfully riotous Red Onion Jazz Band. The second half of this CD reprises a lesser-known 1981 album, _Your Basic Dave Van Ronk_, where he mugs it up on solo versions of various blues and jazz standards, including "St. James Infirmary," "God Bless The Child," "Candy Man" and others -- his stream-of-consciousness rendition of "Cocaine Blues" brings a frankly bitter, world-weary wisdom to bear that could only have come from experience itself. This is unusual, sometimes challenging material, but certainly worth the effort it may take to get on Van Ronk's wavelength. Recommended.

More odd explorations from this late acoustic blues iconoclast. This CD reissues two of Van Ronk's jazz-oriented albums -- on 1963's IN THE TRADITION, he indulges a sweet tooth for Dixieland jazz, backed by the cheerfully riotous Red Onion Jazz Band. The second half of this CD reprises a lesser-known 1981 album, YOUR BASIC DAVE VAN RONK, where he mugs it up on solo versions of various blues and jazz standards, including "St. James Infirmary," "God Bless The Child," "Candy Man" and others -- his stream-of-consciousness rendition of "Cocaine Blues" brings a frankly bitter, world-weary wisdom to bear that could only have come from experience itself. This is unusual, sometimes challenging material, but certainly worth the effort it may take to get on Van Ronk's wavelength. Recommended.

It is true that the tracks with the ROJB are not superb music, but they still capture a hilarious and fun take on the dixieland experience. But to dismiss it as one reviewer here does would mean to deny oneself the experience of his interpretation of "death letter blues" which is one of the finest and most powerful and tender recordings he has ever made. The folk/blues tracks with DVR alone are certainly the strongest as music, but the tracks with ROJB are fun and delightful in their own way. I am glad they exist, as life needs to have its up side as well....who among us hasnt had the opportunity to enjoy the upbeat vengefulness of "if I had to do it all over again, babe I'd do it all over you?"

A fairly good compilation of a Greenwhich Village legend.
Lots of material with good audio quality.

this i am sorry to say is one of the saddst efforts mr. van ronk put out--he may have had fun with it, but the patience of the listener is sorely tried--and this saddens me.i originally purchased this album thinking that it migt be something else--the polydor years--WOW WAS I WRONG! MR. VAN RONK does not do well in this setting--despite what he thought, the mixing of the jazz band efforts are terrible it sounds like the mixer on this project felt perfectly comfortable putting VR"S voice in ones pocket so to speak--it is muffled,a gravelly peep at best and reminds this listener of the stan freburg approach used in his spoof of the drummer in the yellow rose of texas--all in all--this work should have been left on the shelf to moulder--it was not one of his better efforts--i remember looking at this album some thirty years ago and dismissing it--then--sadly, in this observers humble opinion, it should have been put down then--but then i suppose to those who revere this artists work, and who burn candles for him--there will be some interest in this work, if for no other reason than to complete their catalogs of this artist