Van Ronk

Though best known for his dexterous guitar work (influenced by Reverend Gary Davis), gruff vocals, and encyclopedic knowledge of country blues, early jazz, and ragtime, Dave Van Ronk wasn't above the occasional unexpected stylistic digression. Van Ronk sees him tackling material far beyond the usual roster of folk and blues standards. During his time on the Village folk circuit, Van Ronk rubbed elbows with nearly all of the era's major folk artists, and on Van Ronk he turns in distinctive interpretations of songs by friends and acquaintances like Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and The Holy Modal Rounders’ Peter Stampfel. Van Ronk is right at home handling the manic irreverence of Stampfel compositions like “Random Canyon” and “Fat Old John,” and his glee's palpable as he belts out Stampfel’s surreal lyrics in a hoarse, Bronx-accented roar. His voice is less well-suited to more solemn material like Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire” and Randy Newman’s “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today,” but he truly excels on “Gaslight Rag,” a sardonic reminiscence of the Village folk scene that is this set’s sole original composition.