Recalling Folk Music of ‘60s Greenwich Village

*** VARIOUS ARTISTS

“Bleecker Street: Greenwich

Village in the ‘60s”

Astor Place Recordings

Florence and Normandie probably is the intersection that’s had the most impact on hip-hop, which has been rightly called the folk music of the ‘90s. So the idea of revisiting the music of Bleecker and McDougal--ground zero of the ‘60s Greenwich Village folk explosion--seems rather quaint. Indeed, this collection of remakes from that era featuring several generations of folk-savvy artists hardly seems the stuff of revolution today, nor are these performances the stuff of revelation.

But even if it lacks the sense of the new frontier exploration that Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Tim Buckley, Phil Ochs and others generated, at the very least this collection serves as affectionate homage.

Co-producers Steuart Smith (who played most of the instruments) and Stewart Lorman did a fine job matching singers and songs. Particularly noteworthy are Jonatha Brooke, giving an appropriately wistful tinge to Simon’s “Bleecker Street,” and Jules Shear, ratcheting up the plaintive heartache of the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Darling Be Home Soon.”

Chrissie Hynde’s viscous voice is perfect for Buckley’s “Morning Glory,” while two duets (Loudon Wainwright III with Iris DeMent on Richard & Mimi Farina’s “Pack Up Your Sorrows” and John Cale and Suzanne Vega on Cohen’s “So Long, Marianne”) convey, respectively, the contrasting sunny optimism and dark fears of that heady time when it seemed a folk song could change the world.

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