After racking up some impressive
credentials as an A-list sideman on stage and recordings for the likes of Bob
Dylan, Jerry Jeff Walker, Tom Paxton, Rosalie Sorrels and countless others, David
Bromberg first emerged as a solo artist and then a band leader right about the
same time I started spending so much of my time in coffee houses listening to
folk music. I recall seeing David play at the
Back Door Coffee House in Montreal circa 1970 or ’71 and picking up his
self-titled debut LP not too much later.
Through the ‘70s and into the ‘80s, David
was one of the major touring and recording artists on the folk scene (and
beyond) both as a solo artist and band leader with one of the most eclectic repertoires
of the day. Eventually, he tired of touring and became a student of violin
making and a musical instrument dealer while only rarely performing and
recording. In 2007, he returned with his first new album in 17 years – Try Me
One More Time (Appleseed) which I rated 4-stars in my Montreal Gazette review –
and began to tour again.
With Archive Recordings Volume One, David
has also begun to release some of the hundreds of live, radio show and demo
recordings he’s kept from that prolific decade of 1969 to ’79. Half of the 12
tracks here are solo performances and half feature sidemen or versions of the
David Bromberg Band. Some of them are alternate versions of songs from his
albums of the time, a few, I think, he’s never before released. Almost all
feature David’s often brilliant acoustic guitar playing.
The album begins with a solo version of “Cannonball”
(AKA “Cannonball Blues” or “Solid Gone”) recorded in 1975 on FolkScene, the legendary
Los Angeles radio show hosted by my friends Roz and (the late) Howard Larmon.
It’s an absolute delight to hear David’s Watson-worthy flatpicking on the song.
Among the other solo highlights are his
guitar arrangements of the fiddle tune “Salt Creek” and a five-tune medley that
includes “Devil’s Dream”; and his wonderful arrangement of Blind Willie McTell’s
“Statesboro Blues” that’s paired with Luke Jordan’s “Church Bell Blues.” “Statesboro”
is one of my favorite blues songs and David’s official version on Wanted Dead
or Alive was always one of my favorite versions.
Among my favorite band tracks is the
hilarious “Jelly Jaw Joe,” a raggy tune on which David goes off on one of his
legendary and very witty tangents while the band seems to be having tons of
fun. The song seems like the kind of thing Pink Anderson or Jesse Fuller might
have written but I don’t recognize it – so I’m guessing it might be something
David himself came up with in the old medicine show style.
Other favorites among the band tracks are
Bessie Smith’s “Send Me to the ‘Lectric Chair,” which features a great New
Orleans-style horn arrangement, and a version of “Wheel Hoss,” the Bill Monroe
tune, that has David and the always-incredible Andy Statman going crazy on twin
mandolins while Peter Ecklund – who played trumpet on “‘Lectric Chair” and
several other tracks – switches to guitar.
I’m looking forward to hearing more from
David’s archives.
David Bromberg in Canada this coming week
David will be here in the area this coming
week for some solo concerts on Thursday, October 30 at Hugh’s Room in Toronto; Friday,
October 31 at the Neat Coffeeshop in Burnstown; Saturday, November 1 at Le Petit Campus in Montreal; and Sunday, November 2 at the Isabel in Kingston.
I haven’t seen David perform live in more
than 30 years so I’m going to hightail it into Montreal to see the show there.
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