Inside Dave Van Ronk

1	Samson And Delilah 2:35
2	Cocaine Blues 4:16
3	You've Been A Good Old Wagon 2:19
4	Fixin' to Die 2:52
5	Hang Me, Oh Hang Me 3:07
6	Long John 2:08
7	Chicken Is Nice 2:30
8	He Was A Friend Of Mine 3:29
9	Motherless Child 3:48
10	Stackerlee 3:35
11	Mr. Noah 1:26
12	Come Back Baby 3:49
13	Poor Lazarus 5:08
14	House Carpenter 3:30
15	The Cruel Ship's Captain 1:55
16	Sprig Of Thyme 2:35
17	Talking Cancer Blues 1:45
18	I Buyed Me A Little Dog 3:59
19	Lady Gay 3:40
20	Fair And Tender Ladies 5:40
21	Brian O'Lynne 1:15
22	Shanty Man's Life 3:20
23	Silver Dagger 2:20
24	Kentucky Moonshiner 2:35
25	He Never Came Back 2:10

Barnes & Noble

Folk/blues singer and guitarist Dave Van Ronk and his wife, Terri, were sort of spiritual godparents to a younger generation of folksingers who came through through their Greenwich Village apartment in the 1960s. Bob Dylan, for instance, put in time on their couch - - and while there learned the arrangement of "House of the Rising Sun" that appeared on his debut album (and was later picked up by the Animals). But Van Ronk was more than just an influential also-ran. He was a great fingerpicker guitarist, superb arbiter of taste (especially when it came to the folk/blues idiom), and a powerful singer. Recorded in 1962 for the Prestige/Folklore label, INSIDE DAVE VAN RONK captures not only the many facets of a dynamic and influential performer but also an era -- one in which, on his home turf of New York, he was king. On this outing, Van Ronk strays from the crusty blues-mongering he did on his earlier Folkways releases to offer up versions of folk staples, including "House Carpenter," "Fair and Tender Ladies," and "The Cruel Ship's Captain." This album presents definitive Van Ronk at a time when he was the definitive folksinger. Nick Crews

All Music Guide

Somewhat confusingly titled, this CD reissue includes both the 1962 album of the same name and the Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger LP (recorded around the same time), encompassing 25 tracks in all. Anyway, this is certainly Van Ronk's most enduring work, and indeed one of the few relics of the early-'60s traditional folk boom that holds up well today. With the possible exception of Bob Dylan (whom Van Ronk and his wife helped immensely when Dylan was a struggling unknown in New York), Dave was the finest interpreter of traditional folk tunes of that time, with a big bear of a voice that was both anguished and tender. One of the few white folkies who could sing acoustic blues without embarrassment, Van Ronk was also an accomplished acoustic guitar picker; instrumentally and vocally, he brought an intensity to his covers that made the songs his own. Of the two albums brought together on this CD, Inside has the edge because of its more varied instrumentation, including 12-string guitar, dulcimer, and autoharp (Folksinger only has Dave's vocals and guitar). Dominated by classics like "Motherless Child," "Silver Dagger," "Poor Lazarus," and "Fixin' to Die," this also has an arrangement of "He Was a Friend of Mine" that Van Ronk learned from Dylan, who apparently claimed the traditional song as his own at the time. Richie Unterberger