A Chrestomathy is a retrospective two-CD compilation of songs by Dave Van Ronk released in 1992. Its liner notes explain the title: "CHRES-TO-MA-THY: a selection of choice passages. WHICH MEANS THIS IS A SELECTION OF CHOICE WORKS FROM MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS OF DAVE'S MUSIC ON RECORDS."[1]

A Chrestomathy
Compilation album by
Released1992
Recorded1960–1991
GenreFolk
LabelGazell
ProducerDave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk chronology
The Folkways Years, 1959–1961
(1991)
A Chrestomathy
(1992)
To All My Friends in Far-Flung Places
(1994)

Van Ronk recorded for many record labels. This compilation was released by Gazell Records.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic      [2]

Writing for Allmusic, critic William Ruhlman wrote of the album "his affection for the pop music of his childhood ("Two Sleepy People," sung with Christine Lavin, "Swinging on a Star"), makes for a more varied chrestomathy than those who think of Dave Van Ronk simply as a folksinger might expect. It's hard to summarize more than three decades in the career of a steadily working musician in less than two hours, even one who recorded in as piecemeal a fashion as this one, but this compilation does a good job."[2]

Track listing

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Disc 1

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tell Old Bill"Traditional4:24
2."Cocaine Blues"Luke Jordan4:19
3."Motherless Children"Traditional3:51
4."Poor Lazarus"Traditional5:11
5."Mr Noah"Traditional1:32
6."Come Back Baby"Traditional3:52
7."If I Had to Do It All Over Again"Bob Dylan3:34
8."Kentucky Moonshiner"Traditional2:40
9."Fair and Tender Ladies"Traditional5:42
10."Alley Oop"Frazier, Kaverin3:39
11."Chelsea Morning"Joni Mitchell2:37
12."Clouds"Mitchell4:38
13."Swinging on a Star"Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen2:37
14."Dink's Song"Traditional3:34
15."Romping Through the Swamp"Stampfel1:59
  • Tracks 10-15 originally on The Hudson Dusters

Disc 2

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Little Grass Shack"Cogswell, Harrison, Nobel3:39
2."You's a Viper" 2:35
3."Temptation Rag"Lodge3:10
4."Stealin'"Shade3:15
5."John Hurt"Paxton3:14
6."Sunday Street"Van Ronk3:29
7."The Entertainer"Scott Joplin4:57
8."Candy Man"Davis3:05
9."Teddy Bear's Picnic"Bratton, Kennedy3:07
10."Mack the Knife"Brecht, Weill2:36
11."Tango Ballad"Bratton, Kennedy4:44
12."Losers"Van Ronk3:14
13."Garden State Stomp"Van Ronk3:33
14."Two Sleepy People"Carmichael, Frank Loesser3:38
15."The Fresno Shuffle"Frandsen2:47
  • Track 1 originally on Songs for Ageing Children
  • Tracks 2-4 originally on The Ragtime Jug Stompers
  • Track 9 originally on Peter and the Wolf
  • Tracks 10-11 originally on Let No One Deceive You

References

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  1. ^ "Dave Van Ronk - A Chrestomathy". Discogs. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
  2. ^ a b Ruhlman, William. "A Chrestomathy Review". Allmusic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.