The Player: Retrospective is an incomplete but effective summary of David Bromberg’s career, containing the majority of his best songs. It is true that some personal favorites, such as “The New Lee Highway Blues” may be missing — and this may be a sticking point, since Bromberg fans are very dedicated — but most of the important songs — “Sharon,” “The Hold Up,” “Mr. Bojangles,” “Sammy’s Song,” “The Joke’s on Me,” “Wallflower” — are here, making this a fine replacement for the earlier compilation, Out of the Blues, as well as a good introduction for the curious. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine