A Chrestomathy is a retrospective two-CD compilation of songs by Dave Van Ronk

Dave Van Ronk

Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....

 released in 1992.

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

Reception

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."

Disc 1

• Tracks 10-15 originally on The Hudson Dusters.

Disc 2

• 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