Photographers: Dave Peabody; Sharon Seidel Vargas; Andrea Vuocolo; Joe Deuel; Susan Phillips; Raymond Sullivan; Aaron Rennert; John Isaac; Joel Katz.
Arranger: Dave Van Ronk.
Both historically and aesthetically, singer/guitarist Dave Van Ronk was probably the most important piece of the 1960s Greenwich Village folk-scene puzzle. He was at the vanguard of the so-called "folk revival," and was an inspiration to Bob Dylan and many others; his raw, gritty blend of blues, folk, and jazz also put the lie to the image of the placid, earnest folksinger. AND THE TIN PAN BENDED is a live recording of Van Ronk's final concert, from late 2001, just a few months before his death.
As enriching as it is to hear Van Ronk's incisive finger-picking and engaging growl on a variety of American roots-music chestnuts from all the aforementioned stylistic camps, it's just as fascinating to hear his between-song stories (which actually take up a significant portion of the album). His gifts as a raconteur are immediately apparent, as he tells colorful, detail-filled tales about meeting legendary blues singers, starting out in music, and more. Equal parts American musical-history symposium and freewheeling monologue, TIN PAN is a perfect eulogy for a remarkable musical life.
