2 LPs on 1 CD: FOLKSINGER (1962)/INSIDE DAVE VAN RONK (1962).
Solo performer: Dave Von Ronk (vocals, 6 & 12-string guitars, dulcimer, autoharp).
Recorded in April 1962. Includes liner notes by Ira Mayer.
Digitally remastered by Joe Tarantino (Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).
Van Ronk is one of the most important figures in '60s folk. INSIDE combines two albums he recorded for Prestige (FOLKSINGER and INSIDE DAVE VAN RONK) in 1962, immediately following his stint with Folkways. Van Ronk's trademark gifts, his raspy, Howlin' Wolf-with-a-diploma voice and masterful fingerpicking, are developed a bit further than on his Folkways recordings. His sense of humor is also more in evidence on lighthearted tunes like "Chicken Is Nice" and "Mr. Noah." That's not to say he doesn't dip deep into the emotional well of folk and blues, though. His versions of mortality-obsessed songs like "Fixin' To Die," "He Was A Friend Of Mine," and "Silver Dagger" cut deep and sharp, befitting Van Ronk's incisive, uncompromising style and raw delivery.