I was vaguely aware of DVR when I was growing up - Romping Through The Swamp, Clouds, a couple of other tunes - but never really paid attention until about a month ago. Someone heard my instrumental cover of Moscow Nights (Midnight in Moscow) and later gave me a tape of the Village Stompers. "Oh, yeah," he says, "I threw some Dave Van Ronk on the other side."

The name of the DVR album is In The Tradition (1964?) and it is great! It's 1) Van Ronk with acoustic guitar doing several songs mixed with 2) Van Ronk backed up by the Red Onion Jazz Band doing dixieland flavored stuff. I think I had him sterotyped vocally, but his singing is rhythmically and melodically interesting, honest, and really works. And some of his guitar work you can just climb inside of.

Here's the songs:
- Cake Walking Babies From Home
- Ace In The Hole
- St. Louis Tickle - instrumental
- Death Letter Blues
- If I Had To Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You
- Whoa Back Buck
- Sister Kate - "wish I could dance like my Sister Kate; she shakes it just like jelly on a a plate.."
- Kansas City Blues - via Jim Jackson (1927) in dropped D; best song IMO on the album
- Green Rocky Road
- See See Rider
- Rocks And Gravel
- Hesitation Blues

This is available on CD combined with a reunion album that he did with the Red Onion Jazz Band.

- Merritt


"It's all one big note." - F. Zappa