Customer Reviews

The Village - A Celebration of the Music of Greenwich Village

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love the purported idea behind this disc. Get a bunch of contemporary artists and have them cover songs written or performed by the musicians connected with NY's Greenwich Village during the folk music boom of the late 50's and early 60's, but it seems that what they really wanted to do was a Dylan cover album. Of course Dylan cover albums are a dime a dozen so they did an album about the Village and then loaded it up with Dylan covers. Don't flame me. I'm not bashing Dylan. I'll gladly bow to his genius with the rest of you. But we know his stuff and we've heard it performed every which way by all sorts of people. I was looking forward to a disc that would not only put a new spin on the music, but expose a new generation to the music of some of the other amazing talents of the era whose work they probably haven't heard. It's nice that they have an "In Memory of" in the program book to a few of these people, but wouldn't it be even nicer if they had included some of their music? Where is Phil Ochs? Where is Richard Farina?
Don't get me wrong. This is a good album. I really enjoyed listening to it and several of the performances I will be listening to a lot more. I'm just disappointed that the song selection is, with a couple of exceptions, so unimaginative.

I pre-ordered this CD as soon as I heard it advertised on XM-15's The Village despite having much of the songs by their original artists. "Bleecher Street," a collection done several years ago, convinced me this effort would be worth the investment and I'm glad to say I was right.

What I like best about collections like this is to hear some of my favorite oldies re-interpreted by artists who are new to me. I'm going to be looking for more material by The Duhk's whose rendition of "It's Allright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding" was one of my favorites of this album.
I also very much enjoyed Rocco DeLuca after hearing "Hollis Brown."

Of course, Lucinda Williams' "Positively 4th Street", Bruce Hornsby's "Darlin' Be Home Soon," among others are well done, too.

If I had a wish for a second collection, it would be to hear some of the less-covered songs and artists of this place and time. I'm glad to get re-acquainted with old friends, but I'd like to potentially make some new ones as well.

If you enjoyed this CD and would like to hear more like, here's a collection that's one of my favorites:

Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village In The 60's

Rebecca Kyle, December 2009

Too many omissions and WAY too much Dylan covers.

I have to give the producers and the label (429 Records) props for the concept of this album, which was preceded by a syndicated radio show in which the cover artists explained their choices. This was a period in music history that I - thankfully - got to experience first hand. There are a number of books on the subject as well.

What bothers me a lot when I look at track list - and listen to the songs - is that there is way too much Dylan material here. (Nearly half the songs are his.) Of course they couldn't include all the folks who made it in Greenwich Village but to not have even one song by Phil Ochs is a major oversight. The notes really could have been more detailed and maybe photos of the artists covered, rather than of the artists performing. This might provide some history to the younger listener, being attracted by the new artists. And maybe they could have packaged the radio show with the CD as a bonus disc so younger listeners who missed the show could gain some understanding.

So, yes the music is cool and the arrangements interesting but as insight to a whole generation who grew up with Pat Sky (hey, "Ira Hayes" would fit in here), the aforementioned Ochs, Tom Rush, Doc Watson (do I hear "Tennesee Stud"?) and more, it falls short. There's always a chance for a followup ("The Village Vol. II"?) to help make up for this. I think we've covered Mr. Dylan enough on this one.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

There's way too much Dylan and no Tim hardin, Tim Buckley, and a slew of others who made the Village worth remembering for decades. A very good slew of current artists singing an unrepresentative sample of GV. Too bad.

the cd is good but not great there are some really good song and some ok songs. it is enjoyable due to the good ones

The Village is an excellent compilation celebrating the music of the Folk movement. The songs translate into the 2ist century perfectly re-tooled by current artists; Bruce Hornsby,Lucinda Williams, Cowboy Junkies,Los Lobos, The Duhks, and several more. These tunes are classics revisited with great treatments by the artists and new technology making the sound fresh without losing the historic quality of the original pieces. A few pieces are re-tooled with a hybrid arrangement such as Rickie Lee Jones version of Subterranean Homesick Blues ( she includes a slide whistle in the instrumentation) also the Duhks do a slight re-arrangement of It's Alright Ma I'm Only Bleeding, now starting with a very cool, very spartan opening building to a full band orchestration.

This collection should take lead space in all collections of those who enjoy folk, acoustic-rock music whether traditional or not.

This album is a really great collection that celebrates one of the most inspiring times in music! All of the artist involved do a great job of covering the best songs by Dylan, Joni Mitchell, etc. It's really interesting to see what they have done with them. That is how music lives and this album will defiantly inspire people to revisit the originals. Rocco DeLuca and The Duhks are defiantly the highlights!

I was pleasantly surprised by the great choice in music and artists on this cd. Combines the legendary music with todays current artists. I would suggest taking a listen to the Duhks and John Oates tracks. Both incredibly original but do not lose the essence of each song. Great listen for both boomers and their children.........excellent cd.

If you're going to buy only one album this year that celebrates the music of Greenwich Village in the 1960s, make sure you buy "The Village" -- not just because it is your only choice but because it is the best choice. My personal favorite on the compilation is the Ricky Lee Jones cover of "Subterranean Homesick Blues". Also check out Rachael Yamagata's cover of "Both Sides Now". Also, the liner notes are a must read!

What a great album. It has some of my favorite songs covered by a nice variety of artists. They're all good, but some of the stand outs are Shelby Lynne, John Oates and The Duhks. A great collection to have.