“...This charming odds-and-ends collection of his previously unreleased live, studio and apartment material reveals a Brooklyn-born musician who could deliver precise, full-bore blues ("Two Trains Running"), jazz ("Buddy Bolden's Blues") and even the occasional folk rock...One of the real revelations is Van Ronk's lived'in version of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now," which rescues a great song from the realm of singer-songwriter cliche. - David Wild - ROLLING STONE, May 19, 2005

“Van Ronk had a wider musical palette than many people realized…his wide-ranging musical interests are everywhere apparent on this lovingly assembled look behind the curtains." -ALL MUSIC GUIDE

SPECIAL FEATURE! Hear a fascinating 56 minutes worth of interviews, stories and archival clips featuring author/producer Elijah Wald and Folk/Blues legend Dave Van Ronk - produced and hosted by Mark Greenberg. Elijah Wald provides background and stories for every track on the cd, and reads from 'The Mayor of MacDougal Street' (Da Capo Press).

A brand new CD produced by Multicultural Media/Rootstock and Lyrichord Discs!

Tracks compiled and 24 page essay by Elijah Wald, editor of the new Dave Van Ronk autobiography; The Mayor of MacDougal Street (Da Capo Press, May 2005).   Booklet also includes rare photographs from Van Ronk's career. 

Dave Van Ronk was a monumental figure on the Greenwich Village folk scene of the fifties and sixties.  His gruff, whiskey voice and brilliant guitar style were instantly distinctive, and he ranged with ease from raw blues to gentle English ballads to the work of young friends like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell.  This album of previously unreleased tracks — a mix of concert, studio, and apartment recordings — traces his musical evolution and with it the growth of the folk revival from a small coterie of Village pickers into an international musical revolution.  Along with some old favorites, it includes performances that are unlike anything on his other records, and will surprise even longtime fans.  Dave was never an easy man to type, and this set expands our understanding of one of America's great musicians.

Tracks (w/.mp3 samples!)
high | low 1. New Orleans Hop Scop Blues (2:02)
high | low 2. On Top Of Old Smoky (3:29)
high | low 3. All My Trials (3:48)
high | low 4. Buddy Bolden's Blues (2:48)
high | low 5. The Butcher Boy (2:56)
high | low 6. Salty Dog (4:09)
high | low 7. Two Trains Running (3:34)
high | low 8. Way Down In Lubyanka Prison (4:00)
high | low 9. Willie The Weeper (3:07)
high | low 10. Shaving Cream (3:11)
high | low 11. The Cruel Ship's Captain (2:39)
high | low 12. As You Make Your Bed (4:20)
high | low 13. Bird On The Wire (3:29)
high | low 14. Both Sides Now (5:17)
high | low 15. In Conditional Support Of Beauty (4:00)
high | low 16. W.C. Fields Routine (1:36)
high | low 17. Romping Through The Swamp (with the Hudson Dusters) (2:03)

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