
Rate it!
Avg: 4.0 (27 ratings)
- Date Released: January 1, 1969
- Genre: Country/Folk
- Style: Contemporary Folk
- Label: Fantasy
"Let's all pick up our silver daggers and plunge them into our lily white breasts."
-
We Say...
Presiding over the "hoot" nights at the Gaslight Café, Dave Van Ronk became known as the "Mayor of MacDougal Street." As the Godfather of "The Urban Folk Scare," he nurtured a whole new wave of folk talent as they swarmed the streets of the Village in the early '60s, most notable among them Bob Dylan, not only with three hots and a cot, but also with a repertoire as vast and knowing as the man with the growl and the cowlick himself. This 25-track set from 1962 captures his most typical resounding performances, from the aching "Cocaine Blues" to the boisterous "Brian O'Lynne." If Dave got "He Was a Friend of Mine" from Dylan, compare Van Ronk's version of "Moonshiner" with the version Dylan sang at the Gaslight circa 1962. At turns tender, gruff and stark raving mad, Van Ronk's sly humor is as controlled as his dexterity as he advises a generation: "Let's all pick up our silver daggers and plunge them into our lily white breasts."
-
They Say...
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.
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
25 Total Tracks, 77:16 Total Length
Loading...

![]()
Playlists If you like Dave Van Ronk, check out these member playlists
Explore music recommended by Dave Van Ronk fans
Credits
- Dave Van Ronk - Dulcimer // Dave Van Ronk - Banjo // Dave Van Ronk - Guitar // Dave Van Ronk - Autoharp // Dave Van Ronk - Harp // Dave Van Ronk - Vocals // Dave Van Ronk - Guitar (12 String) // Dave Van Ronk - Main Performer // Dave Van Ronk - ? // Don Schlitten - Photography // Tony Lane - Art Direction // Ira Mayer - Liner Notes
Choose from over 6 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.




