Old Town School Sampler Leaves You Wanting More

Dipping the toes into a very deep well.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Live from the Old Town School

Old Town School Recordings

* * * *

To call Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music a venerable institution is akin to calling the Mona Lisa a fairly well known painting. Formed in 1957 at the height of the folk revival, the OTS has hosted pretty much every major figure on the folk scene. True to its name, it’s also a teaching institution for around 6,000 erstwhile musicians as well as a concert venue. The OTS has mined its considerable archives and has made available to the public 127 tracks featuring 85 separate artists. The recording featured in this review is a whet-your-whistle 21-track sampler. My-oh-my, what an assemblage of talent!

The sampler dips mostly into performances since 1982. There’s Donovan leading a group sing of “Mellow Yellow,” Joan Baez performing “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” Doc Watson ripping up the strings on “Blue Eyed Jane,” and John Hammond giving up the “Walkin’ Blues.” There are early performances from now famed musicians–Steve Earle singing “Goodbye,” Martin Carthy on “John Barleycorn,” Jeff Tweedy singing the catchy “Three is the Magic Number,” and a young Claudia Schmidt singing “Wild Mountain Thyme. More poignant still are tracks from those no longer with us, a list that includes Dave Van Ronk, John Hartford, the great Mahalia Jackson, and the one I miss the most: Steve Goodman. What comes through in each performance is the consummate professionalism of the artist, the intimacy of the venue, and the joy of sharing fabulous music with an appreciate audience.

Check out the entire collection at www.oldtownschool.org/liverecordings