Search - Tom Rush :: Tom Rush

Forgotten classic

George H. Soule | Edwardsville, Illinois United States | 11/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been hoping for this reissue of Tom Rush's initial release for Elektra for a long time because it is one of my favorite albums. I bought the vinyl when it came out in 1965 and played it to death. Tom Rush was among that group of educated urban folk/blues musicians in the '60s--a group that included John Hammond Jr., Dave Van Ronk, Eric Von Schmidt, Geoff Muldaur, Danny Kalb, John Sebastian, etc. in the East and Jorma Kaukonen and John Fahey in the West. (Loosely arranged around Cambridge and Berkeley.) Rush is faithful to the traditions on this album which features excellent acoustic guitar work and vocals that are uniformly convincing. Half of the songs on the record are traditional songs. He treats these with reverence and interprets them originally. There is nothing fake or posed in the way Rush presents folk music and blues songs. Further, the collection is eclectic--not just blues or just folk songs but a delightful mix. The first song "Long John" combines the title song with "Another Man done Gone." On "If Your Man Gets Busted," Rush combines elements of Robert Johnson blues songs accompanied by fine bottleneck work in a convincing performance. The line about the big city women: "Got both hands full of gimme / Got a mouth full of 'much obliged'" has been my mental description of a particular behavior for years. From this blues classic, Rush shifts to some clean country picking on Woody Guthrie's Okie anthem "Do-Re-Me" where he is accompanied by Rambling Jack Elliot. This version is among the best recordings of the classic. Kokomo Arnold's "Milk Cow Blues" features fine guitar accompanied by Fritz Richmond's jug and John Sebastian's blues harp. Indeed, Sebastian's harp is brilliant on this track. Sebastian, the heart of the Lovin' Spoonful, is on half the tracks on the album--including "Black Mountain Blues" originally a Bessie Smith song; "When She Wants Good Lovin'," a Coasters song written by Leiber and Stoller; and "Solid Gone" (aka "The Cannonball"). The record is worth buying for his harp--"Solid Gone" is exquisite. Virtuoso hardly describes his command of blues harp idiom. But there's even more here. The record has three songs by Woody Guthrie. I've mentioned "Do-Re-Mi." There are two other Guthrie songs. Rush's treatment of "Poor Man," the model for Dylan's "Ballad of Hollis Brown," is sensitive and persuasive, and "I'd Like to Know" was as current a protest in 1965 as when it was written (and now, too, I suppose). Rush includes a gambler's song, "The Cuckoo"; "Windy Bill," a cautionary cowboy song; and a train song--Bukka White's bottleneck classic "Panama Limited." This last song is effectively a workshop for playing bottleneck train songs and a fine conclusion for the disc. While Rush was eventually eclipsed by some of his contemporaries, he was true to tradition and the idioms of American music. Moreover, his virtuoso acoustic guitar playing was fresh and authentic. This disc is particularly valuable because of the music it contains and the high level of musicianship."

This LP defines a standard for American folk music.

Martin Hogan | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 05/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For as high as the pedestal that I put this LP on, it somehow has the ability to take itself down and then sit down next to you and be your friend.



Before internet and computers and the current trend of disposable music, I used to seek out LP's of Tom Rush "Tom Rush" to pass out to friends. This LP has brought tremendous enthusiasm to many individuals for regenerating interest in American music. As a friend of mine who recently purchased the cd e-mailed me (I gave him a copy of the LP a while back) and he said "side two is fantastic! side one was so good I never even flipped it over. And now, with the CD, I can play it straight through over and over, which I do. You wouldn't think it could get better than side one but it does!"



Tom Rush "Tom Rush" continually sparks the ears -- as if it was a brand new recording. This LP is truly timeless.



And for the diehards? It is really worth finding a MONO copy on LP because the straightforward mix of MONO will give you far more clarity of the voice and instruments. There are no left/right panning effects here to dilute the music.



So as I sit here in front of the old five-and-dime waiting for the Norfolk & Western to rattle into station, I can always wonder about a simpler day. And for that whistle that won't blow anymore, there is always Tom Rush to bring it a little bit closer."