Concord Records is going deep into its vaults and bringing out some wonderful material. Case in point are two albums folk guitarist/singer Dave Van Ronk recorded back in 1962. Originally titled Folksinger and Inside Dave Van Ronk, these 25 tracks set the standard of delivering traditional American music, and they made himself a rival for Bob Dylan for quite some time. His gritty vocals along with 6 string guitar make gospel tunes such as “ Samson and Delilah” as well as bluesies such as “Cocaine Blues” definitive. “He Was A Friend of Mine” penetrates to the marrow, while “Stackerlee” is harrowing. He switches to 12 string and dulcimer on the hilarious “Talking Cancer Blues” and the penetrating “Silver Dagger.” This music from a half century ago is fresher than 95% of what today’s posers are positioning with.
Fantasy Records