Search - David Johansen :: Harry Smiths

Whether under his given name or under the guise of his bon vivant alter ego Buster Poindexter, David Johansen has long displayed a keen appreciation for roots music. Having pioneered punk as the frontman for the New York Dolls and achieved a measure of fame as a purveyor of party music under the Poindexter nom de plume, Johansen here delves into country blues with the backing of a quartet that takes its name from the man who produced the landmark Anthology of American Folk Music. Actually, only two songs here come from Harry Smith's exhaustive anthology. Elsewhere, Johansen and the adroit backing foursome tackle the likes of Muddy Waters's "Little Geneva," Lightnin' Hopkins's "Katie Mae," and Mississippi John Hurt's "Richland Woman" with surprising insight and sympathy--surprising, given the broad strokes Buster tends to favor. Johansen even revisits Sonny Boy Williamson's "Don't Start Me Talking," a track the Dolls did two and a half decades earlier on their glam classic Too Much Too Soon, in the process demonstrating that a great song never gets old. --Steven Stolder