Guitarist and vocalist Dave Van Ronk was one of the progenitors of what became called the “folk” movement of the late 50s and early sixties, leaving a trail of artists like Bob Dylan who were influenced by his rootsy mix of traditional sounds, blues and American folk originals. This two disc set contains his earliest and arguably most important releases, comprising his classic albums Dave Van Ronk sings Ballads, Blues, and a Spiritual from 1959, the 1961 Van Ronk Sings as well as Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger released in 1962. There are five tunes from the 1958 Skiffle In Stereo where Ronk teams up with a old-timey jazz band of Sam Charters/ct-g-kaz, Russell Glynn-jug, Len Kunstadt/kazoo and Ann Danberg/washboard for some hootenanny stompers like “Trouble in Mind” and “Voice of a Porkchop.”
Ronk’s voice was a strong hurricane of a force with his unvarnished finger picking that featured rich takes of pieces from Bessie Smith (“Backwater Blues”) and Leroy Carr (”How Long”) while taking on “John Henry” on a more Leadbetter feel than Pete Seeger. Van Ronk was one of the very first white folk singers to try to emulate the rural black feel, and he succeeds on his reads of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “See That My Grave is Kept Clean” and the field ballad “Dink’s Song” while “Hootchy Kootchy Man” give Muddy Waters a run for his money. The 1962 high water mark has him pulling out some Rev Gary Davis material on “Samson and Delilah” and “Cocaine Blues” whereas “He Was A Friend of Mine” sounds like the roots of Bob Dylan’s career. This is the material that started the wave rolling.