rupsybooksy's review against another edition
3.0
I’d give it a 3.5 if I could! Great stories and really gives you an inside look into the creation of the New York folk scene and the people who really defined it.
princesszinza's review against another edition
4.0
When I was in high school some time in the 1970's I saw Dave Van Ronk at the Fountain Valley Public Library. In a sad, dim little room with my mom and maybe 10 other people, Dave Van Ronk performed his heart out. I doubt that most of the audience, primarily middle aged women, had any idea who Dave Van Ronk was. I remember that he looked rumpled and his "on-stage" (there wasn't really a stage, just a chair) banter was very amusing but received few laughs. His songs got only polite applause. I remember wishing I could go up and tell him how much I enjoyed the performance and chat up music with him. Unfortunately, he was engaged in a conversation with the librarian, a woman who had always scared me. Besides, I was with my mother who was kind enough to bring me but not indulgent enough to want to hang out after the show.
I was hoping this book would explain what happened. Why would this 60's folk icon make an appearance in such a sad venue only ten years after folk mania reached its height? This book didn't answer that question because it focuses only on the 1950's-1960's New York scene. That's okay. I still loved the amusing stories and amazing history that Dave lived. Sadly, Dave Van Ronk didn't live to see this book through to completion but his sense of humor, strong political views, and tremendous knowledge of music comes through. Dave is a bit of a music elitist but I'm fine with that. He's earned the right. I still wish I'd been able to have had that chat at the Fountain Valley library.
I was hoping this book would explain what happened. Why would this 60's folk icon make an appearance in such a sad venue only ten years after folk mania reached its height? This book didn't answer that question because it focuses only on the 1950's-1960's New York scene. That's okay. I still loved the amusing stories and amazing history that Dave lived. Sadly, Dave Van Ronk didn't live to see this book through to completion but his sense of humor, strong political views, and tremendous knowledge of music comes through. Dave is a bit of a music elitist but I'm fine with that. He's earned the right. I still wish I'd been able to have had that chat at the Fountain Valley library.
babsellen's review against another edition
4.0
More of a window into the evolution of the extraordinary folk/blues/jazz scene in the Village during the mid-'50s through the mid'60s than a biography. Mostly related as a memoir by the lovingly dubbed "Mayor of MacDougal Street," Dave Van Ronk, the book is completed by the co-author Elijah Wald after Dave's death from cancer in 2002. I wish it could have gone on, but fate stepped in. Some day I would like to read an actual bio of this unique man whose music I love.
adamcarrico91's review against another edition
5.0
This was not only the best book about the 1960's folk revival or Greenwich Village, but the best music related book at all I've ever read. Dave Van Ronk's storytelling that is present in so many of his live recordings is translated to the page perfectly in this work.
johnday's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. What a great read. Wish I'd listened to more of his music in the past, but I do now.
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