Search - Dave Van Ronk :: Somebody Else, Not Me

On Par With Sunday Street

Mr. T. | New York, NY | 07/06/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The liner notes to Sunday Street claim that that album is Dave's best album. I'd like to make the case that 1980's Somebody Else Not Me, an obvious reworking of the Sunday Street formula, is at least the equal of its predecessor. My personal opinion is that Somebody Else is a better realization of the Sunday Street vision. While the earlier album does contain the brilliant title track, overall I prefer the song selection and the arrangements on the later album. Highlights for me include the definitive version of Tom Paxton's "Did You Hear John Hurt?" and the wonderful guitar arrangement of Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty." In short: if you like Sunday Street, you will certainly like Somebody Else, Not Me. The latter album should be considered a work of equal merit, not simply a rehashing of a successful formula. Having said all this, I still think Dave's best album is the Fantasy LP called Folksinger."