Before this Greenwich Village folk doyen recorded for Prestige, he made a splash with his Smithsonian Folkways LPs. He came to be revered for these kinds of new spins on old blues and jazz classics: Hesitation Blues; Black Mountain Blues; My Baby’s So Sweet; Come Back Baby; Winin’ Boy; Willie the Weeper 20 tracks!
Rough, gritty folk guitarist and singer, Van Ronk is one of the genre’s most expressive musicians. These 20 tracks represent Van Ronk’s best loved material and reveal his original synthesis of jazz and folk. Titles include Willie the Weeper, Come Back Baby, and Yas, Yas, Yas. Van Ronk’s handpicked favorites from his Folkways LP’s. Compiled and annotated by Kip Lornell and Dave Van Ronk. “…[H]is carefully crafted guitar accompaniments are varied, inventive, and often surprisingly delicate. The reasons for Van Ronk’s impact remain loud and clear.” — Sing Out
1 Duncan and Brady
2 Hesitation Blues
3 In the Pines
4 Willie the Weeper
5 Twelve Gates to the City
6 River Come Down
7 Careless Love
8 Betty and Dupree
9 Bed Bug Blues
10 Leave Her Johnny
11 Yas, Yas, Yas
12 Please See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
13 Winin’ Boy
14 Just a Closer Walk with Thee
15 Gambler’s Blues
16 Spike Driver’s Moan
17 Georgie on the Irt
18 Come Back Baby
19 Black Mountain Blues
20 My Baby’s So Sweet