Published on Apr 29, 1999
Ah, now
this is more like it!
After a day of listening to studio-polished musicians and
machines that are programmed not to play a single wrong note, it’s
refreshing to pull out an album that glorifies in a bit of
grit.
Dave Van Ronk was one of the leading musicians of the folk music
renaissancein the ’60s and ’70s. After growing disillusioned with
the commercialization of the scene, Van Ronk tried his hand at
retirement – something which didn’t last too long. Almost as a slap
in the face to what he saw as a decline in the folk scene, Van Ronk
put out
Sunday Street – an album of only acoustic guitar and vocals
– in 1976. (The album has been re-released by Philo.)
Van Ronk is a singer who sounds like he gargles with battery
acid – and I wouldn’t want his voice to change one iota. It is that
gritty, take-it-as-it-is sound that really captures his true magic.
He also is one hell of a guitar player – more on that in a minute –
who makes me want to smash my guitars in frustration, knowing I’ll
never play like he does. Simply put,
Sunday Street is one outstanding album.
From the opening notes of the title track, Van Ronk lets you
know that school is in session, and he is going to give you an
intense education for 44 minutes. Van Ronk successfully captures
the existential anguish of those who are waiting to catch one big
break in life (“Sunday Street,” “Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This
Morning”, “That’ll Never Happen No More”), but shows that there is
more than just a glimmer of hope in their eyes. It takes something
special to capture such raw emotion in song, and Van Ronk oozes
that magic.
If all this weren’t enough, he blows the doors off their hinges
with two outstanding instrumentals. The first, a cover of Scott
Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” makes me wonder how one person is
playing this song. Van Ronk seems to dance around the fretboard,
yet he captures the true essence of the classic ragtime piece. The
other track, a cover of Jelly Roll Morton’s “The Pearls,” is
another track which shows Van Ronk’s mastery of the six-string.
It’s beautiful, it’s outstanding… it’s making me green with
envy.
Whether it’s the “double-dare” action of “Jivin’ Man Blues” or
the old, wise storyteller of “That Song About The Midway” (the
latter written by Joni Mitchell), Van Ronk leaves no doubt on
Sunday Street that he believes every word he sings, and puts
his all into every single note he plays on the guitar. This is one
of those rare instances where I wish that an album hadn’t been so
short; Van Ronk’s talents are so great that I wish this had even
been a double-album set, just so I could have soaked up more of his
magic.
Sunday Street is an album that many people today might not
have heard of – which is, as we call it in the business, a God-Damn
Shame. Van Ronk is an artist who deserves to be recognized for the
talent he is by more than just an underground culture. One listen
to this album, and you’ll understand why.