Dave Van Ronk was one of the key figures in the coffee-house culture of New York's Greenwich Village during the late '50s and early '60s, both as a folk-blues artist in his own right and as a friend, mentor, and general mover and shaker, helping particularly in the early career of Bob Dylan. As a guitarist and singer, Van Ronk's repertoire covered the gamut of traditional American folk and blues music, encompassing ragtime, skiffle, jug band music, New Orleans jazz, and swing as he helped popularise folk music in the changing musical environment of the post rock 'n' roll era. This great value 47-track 2-CD collection comprises recordings from the first five years of his recording career as he established himself at the core of New York's vibrant folk scene. It includes titles from one of his first recording projects, a 1958 album on the obscure Lyrichord label with the The Orange Blossom Jug Five called "Skiffle In Stereo", plus the complete content of his first three solo albums as a folk-blues artist for the Folkways and Prestige labels - "Dave Van Ronk Sings Ballads, Blues, and a Spiritual", "Dave Van Ronk Sings" and "Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger". It provides a thorough introduction to his early years, giving a fine insight into the repertoire which he and his peers saw as the core of the Americana tradition, and amply demonstrates why he became a much loved and respected personality within the folk community over the years
4 Take Your Fingers Off It - the Orange Blossom Jug Five
5 Voice of a Porkchop - the Orange Blossom Jug Five
6 Duncan and Brady
7 Black Mountain Blues
8 In the Pines
9 My Baby's So Sweet
10 Twelve Gates to the City
11 Winin' Boy Blues
12 If You Leave Me Pretty Mama
13 Backwater Blues
14 Careless Love
15 Betty and Dupree
16 K.C. Moan
17 Gambler's Blues
18 John Henry
19 How Long
20 Bed Bug Blues
21 Yas-Yas-Yas
22 See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
23 Tell Old Bill
24 Hesitation Blues
25 Sweet Substitute
- Disc 2 -
1 Georgie and the Irt
2 Hootchy Kootchy Man
3 Dink's Song
4 River Come Down
5 Just a Closer Walk with Thee
6 Come Back Baby
7 Spike Driver's Moan
8 Standing By My Window
9 Willie the Weeper
10 Samson and Delilah
11 Cocaine Blues
12 You've Been a Good Old Wagon
13 Fixin' to Die
14 Hang Me, Oh Hang Me
15 Long John
16 Chicken Is Nice
17 He Was a Friend of Mine
18 Motherless Children
19 Stackalee
20 Mr. Noah
21 Come Back, Baby
22 Poor Lazarus
Dave Van Ronk was one of the key figures in the coffee-house culture of New York's Greenwich Village during the late '50s and early '60s, both as a folk-blues artist in his own right and as a friend, mentor, and general mover and shaker, helping particularly in the early career of Bob Dylan. As a guitarist and singer, Van Ronk's repertoire covered the gamut of traditional American folk and blues music, encompassing ragtime, skiffle, jug band music, New Orleans jazz, and swing as he helped popularise folk music in the changing musical environment of the post rock 'n' roll era. This great value 47-track 2-CD collection comprises recordings from the first five years of his recording career as he established himself at the core of New York's vibrant folk scene. It includes titles from one of his first recording projects, a 1958 album on the obscure Lyrichord label with the The Orange Blossom Jug Five called "Skiffle In Stereo", plus the complete content of his first three solo albums as a folk-blues artist for the Folkways and Prestige labels - "Dave Van Ronk Sings Ballads, Blues, and a Spiritual", "Dave Van Ronk Sings" and "Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger". It provides a thorough introduction to his early years, giving a fine insight into the repertoire which he and his peers saw as the core of the Americana tradition, and amply demonstrates why he became a much loved and respected personality within the folk community over the years
