Dave Van Ronk And the Hudson Dusters

The Hudson Dusters is a real oddity in Dave Van Ronk’s discography. By the time it was recorded in 1967 Van Ronk had long since achieved elder statesman status on the Greenwich Village folk scene, having mentored the likes of Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, and Joni Mitchell and earned himself the moniker “The Mayor of MacDougal street. But while his protégés experienced dizzying commercial successes Van Ronk himself remained something of a cult figure, cutting exceptional but stolidly traditional albums of blues, ragtime, and string band standards for labels like Folkways, Verve, and Prestige. The Hudson Dusters was Van Ronk’s belated effort to discard the acoustic austerity of his solo work, recruiting an electric backing band. Van Ronk’s relatively straight ahead reading of Rev. Gary Davis’ “Cocaine” is the album’s only gesture towards the blues. Elsewhere he tries everything from the gauzy sunshine pop of “Chelsea Morning,” to a rave-up take on The Hollywood Argyle’s 1960 novelty hit “Alley Oop.” The best thing here may be Van Ronk’s surprisingly sensitive reading of Joni Mitchell’s “From Both Sides Now”, which he re-titles “Clouds”.